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A Live 22 Let Live 



Price System 



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SANK THOMPSON, 
' ' The King Detective. ' ' 



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SANK THOMPSON 



THE KING DETECTIVE: 






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Dalton, Ga.: 
» The A. J. Sho waiter Co., Stationers, Printers and Binders, 

1896. 






V 



PREFACE. 

I have obtained the title of "The King Detective" but 
not the title of the King Writer. I have devoted the most 
of my spare time in attempting to ascertain what to write, 
which naturally gave me the less time in which to ascertain 
how to write the same. The intelligent reader is not sup- 
posed to criticise upon my style of writing, but upon what I 
have wrote. This work, is not supposed to be endorsed by 
the public upon the merits of its scientific and artificial style, 
but upon the merits of its natural style and intrinsic value. 
You will find very few, if any, artificial flowers in this garden 
(work.) I have tackled "man's chief magistrate" known as 
"custom" with nature's sword (pen.) Wherever he crosses 
nature's path we collide. 

But I have only been able to trace him with an imagin- 
ary chain of circumstantial evidence. 

The public are supposed to take up the case and use 
their own discretion. 

Should you wish to ascertain the exact number of 
branches, creeks and rivulets that emptied into the Mississ- 
ippi river, between New Orleans and Memphis, you could 
not accomplish your purpose by simply traveling up the 
main stream from New Orleans to Memphis upon a boat. 
You would need to "digress," quit the main channel and 
your steamboat, take a skiff and row up each tributary and 
ascertain each branch that emptied into each tributary. 
The reader will find that I of ttimes break the rules of etiquette, 
I too often "digress," quit the main channel, in order to 
ascertain each tributary. The work may need to be read 
the second time before all the ideas can be gathered. The 
work was first gotten up by a routine of "digressions," 
which naturally gave me an opportunity to advance the 
greater number of original ideas, but at the same time it 
deranged the work to a great extent, it still remains a routine 
of "digressions." Sank Thompson. 



«A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM.' 



Chapter I. 
Competition and Opposition. 

We have been led to believe that competition and oppo- 
sition, between our mercantile fraternity in selling the ne- 
cessities and luxuries of life to our own people, was the life 
of trade. 

The reason why it is utterly impossible for us to labor 
under a broader mistake, is because, a superstitious delusion, 
worse could not possibly exist, of a temporal character, that 
is more detrimental, dangerous and disastrous. 

The community (outside the mercantile fraternity) repre- 
sent the trade, while the mercantile fraternity represent the 
tradesman. Should you own a railroad running from New 
York to Oregon, and should the community wish to force 
you to cut your rates, the community should not have oppo- 
sition — an opponent to build a road from Maine to California — 
in order to force you to cut your rates in competing with 
this opposition. If the community wish to force you to cut 
your rates, they should not have an opponent to first rob 
you of one half your patronage. The remedy is worse than 
the malady. It may make little or no difference how low 
your opponent and self may cut your rates after the patron- 
age is divided between you two ; you could have cut your 
rates one hundred per cent, lower with all of your original 
patronage, and have fared the same. The community should 
force you to, cut your rates by a law and not by an opponent. 
A law will not rob you of any of your patronage, while an 
opponent may rob you of one half. A law will force you to 
cut your rates, while you have all the patronage ; while an 
opponent will force you to cut your rates, while you only 
have one half the patronage. 



6 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

The time to cut rates is while you have the whole, not 
while you have the half. Today, New York city may own 
a greater number of street railways, dummy lines, &c. She 
may have more competition of this character, and yet cheaper 
rates than is found elsewhere ; but at the same time, New 
York city has the greatest number of inhabitants. It is true 
that this competition forces down the rates, while at the 
same time, it is the great amount of patronage that admits 
of these low rates. The inhabitants of New York city have 
a natural novel way of outwitting the competition that exist 
among the city's railways. 

The elevated railways have been only able to reach the 
second story, while the inhabitants have a chance to double 
and treble in numbers in proportion to the number of rail- 
ways, by dwelling in houses as high as thirteen stories, 
besides the underground cellar. By the inhabitants being 
able to dwell in houses thirteen stories high besides the 
cellar, while the elevated railways only reach the second 
story, and do not tunnel under the streets ; by New York 
city's railways obtaining so great amount of patronage, on 
this account, allowing and admitting of the railways cutting 
their rates so low, while their exists so much opposition, we 
still continue to believe, that competition and opposition, 
between a non-productive enterprise is the life of traffic and 
tocle. Competition between the farming fraternity causes 
the more pork and hominy to be raised and put upon the 
market at a lower price. This low price is the life of the 
community, it allows the community to prosper. The com- 
munity represent the trade. Impoverish the community, 
then, where is your trade ? The echo answers, where ? What 
causes these lower prices of produce ? It is the competition 
between a productive enterprise. Competition and opposition 
between productive enterprises will cause the prices to 
continue to fall, till it reaches a limit, which might prove in- 
convenient to progress further. 

While opposition between non-productive enterprises can 
never reach a limit that would prove inconvenient to fall 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 7 

below, but forces prices to remain bigh enough to allow the 
opposition to subsist off of the community. All non-pro- 
ductive enterprises are forced to subsist off of the community. 
Merchandising is a non-productive enterprise, the same as 
railroading, but of more vital importance. 

We cannot "get up" a subject of a temporal character, 
that is of more vital importance than our mode of merchan- 
dise. It is our living. It is our life. 

Our Religion and Liberty depend a great deal upon our 
mode of -living, while our living is almost, wholly, depen 
dent upon our mode of merchandise — our mode of selling 
the necessities as well as the luxuries of life. The world is 
6,000 years old, yet, still there, probably, has only been one 
nation that protected their mode of merchandise — their 
mode of living. Israel, while he was prospering in the land 
of Canaan, protected his mode of merchandise, his mode of 
living, through the aid of inspired men. The world is 6,000 
years old, yet no nation has been able to protect its mode of 
merchandise through the aid of intellect up to date, China 
excepted. As yet it has only been protected through the 
aid of inspiration. Merchandise is something that most all 
are compelled to utilize ; both externally and internally day 
and night, rain or shine, and we should be protected in pro- 
curing the same, as long as we continue to be born "bare, bald 
and hungry." Every man, woman and child, all enterprises, 
both non-productive and productive, all monopolies and 
money lenders, are supposed to patronize merchandise. The 
margin, that our several retailers realize, is of the utmost 
temporal, vital importance, Our liberty, life, and part of 
our religion rest almost wholly upon the margin that our 
retailers realize. This margin is similar to the mainspring of 
a watch, most everything of a temporal character is governed 
controlled and regulated by this movement. We have been 
led to believe that competition and opposition between our 
non-productive mercantile fraternity was the life of trade. 
Who taught us to believe this superstitious delusion ? Why, 
modern Europe. Who taught modern Europe to believe this 



8 

mistaken idea? The echo answers, who? "Success does 
not depend upon never making a mistake, but depends upon 
not continuing to make the same mistake." The world has 
always been considered a cheat. The modern world — modern 
Europe, has always been considered a cheat. While we all 
admit that Young America has been speculated (cheated) 
to death. 

As long as the modern world believes that opposition be- 
tween the non-productive mercantile fraternity is the life of 
trade — life of the people and country — so long may the modern 
world continue to be a cheat. Competition between the non- 
productive mercantile fraternity simply robs each merchant 
out of his rightful share of patronage, and forces each mer- 
chant to sell on the slow sale and large profit order ; this 
large profit order impoverishes the trade — the community — 
and opens the door the wider for the more opposition. A 
non-productive merchant cannot sell according to his con- 
science, and good looks, nor according to the number of his 
customers, he is engaged in a non-productive enterprise ; he 
cannot sell at a lower margin, on account of the long rows 
and squares of business houses that are running in his city, 
but only according to the cash (or as good as the cash) 
patronage. By us being led to believe, that competition was 
the life of trade, we seem to believe the same as a fact. So 
instead of the community giving the non-productive mercantile 
fraternity all of its patronage, the community goes in the 
"business," and robs the merchants out of their rightful share 
of patronage. Instead of the community feeding the mer- 
chants upon its patronage it feeds the merchants upon com- 
petition. Feeding our mercantile fraternity upon competition 
is similar to feeding a "yaller" country school girl upon 
arsenic, it is bound to create a bad result. The more the 
community cheats the merchants by going in the business, 
and robbing the merchants out of their share of patronage, 
the more the merchants cheat the community by selling on 
the slow sale and^ large profit order. So we are simply 
cheating ourselves to death, while the cheating modern 



world rolls on as though naught had happened. If you are 
a farmer, selling corn at one dollar and ten cents per bushel 
should opposition in the shape of corn raisiug farmers set in, 
you, then might be forced to sell your corn at twenty cents 
per bushel. 

But if you area merchant, selling a hat at one dollar and 
ten cents, that cost you one dollar, opposition cannot force 
you to sell this hat at twenty cents. You may now and then 
sell remnants below cost, after you have sold articles at a 
high margin. After a merchant has paid, or has promised 
to pay, a certain price for his stock, he cannot sell below cost 
and live. After too many cotton raisers raise too much cot- 
ton, and over supply the demand, and after cotton falls from 
ten cents down to four, some of the planters desist in order 
that the price may advance. But after too many men go iii 
the mercantile business it causes the margin to go up, instead 
of down, which causes the community to persist in going in 
the business. Nothing checks this persistency except the 
impoverished poor's empty purse, and the sheriff's keys. 
Should you wish to make an honest dollar "right slick," the 
only suggestion we can give is that you drop one in a hot 
skillet of grease. There may be three reasons why we con- 
tinue to believe that opposition is the life of trade. The 
first is, because our non-productive merchants utilize a pri- 
vate cost mark, and we are unable to determine what our 
several merchants tax us for handling the necessities of life. 
We know .what per cent, the miller charges for toll ; what 
percentage our banker charges for loans ; and what rates we 
pay per mile for car fare. We can obtain correct quotations 
on corn and cotton, and once could obtain the actual cost of 
man, (the African slave) but the merchant's margin, upon 
the necessities of life has been a "sealed book ;" probably, 
ever since the dark waves of the dark ages swept over the 
partially enlightened world. The second reason is, because, 
in our largest cities, the retail merchant is generally held 
down on the ground floor, while the inhabitants of cities can 
double and treble in numbers (through the aid of immigra- 



10 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

tion or otherwise) in proportion to the number of "ground 
floor" merchants, by dwelling as high up as the thirteenth 
story. This gives our merchants in large cities the more 
patronage, who sell at a lower margin and price, than mer- 
chants in small villages, where the '-houses" are generally of 
two and three stories. So we continue to believe that it is 
the competition that admits of these lower margins. The 
third reason is, because it is only our oversold impover- 
ished poor, who suffer the extremes on account of this super- 
stitious delusion, that the enlightened modern world 
borrowed from the dark ages, and have neglected to return. 
Probably, each European country is forced to manufacture 
and ship wares of merchandise to different couutries as 
means of part of a livelihood. Each European country is 
forced to compete with others in shipping manufactured 
wares. In order that a country can manufacture cheap, it 
must sell cheap to its own people. The country that can 
sell the cheapest to its own people, can the better be enabled 
to manufacture the best grade, at the least cost, and realize 
the more profit off of its exports. This competition, that 
naturally exists between different European countries, on 
manufacturing and shipping wares, is the life of Europe's 
trade, life of Europe's people, life of Europe, to a certain 
extent, because, it naturally forces each country to sell at a 
low margin to her own people. 

Competition between different countries, in manufacturing 
and shipping wares, is the life of trade, to a certain extent, 
(it simply forces one country to sell her own people at as 
low a margin as others, and they all may consolidate at most 
any certain margin.) But competition between the mercan- 
tile fraternity, in selling to her own people, is somewhat 
different. All Europe may believe that competition between 
the mercantile fraternity is the life of trade, the same as we 
(Young America.) Yet at the same time, each European 
country is forced to sell at as low a margin as its next door 
neighbor. Europe may have, more or less, natural restrict- 
ions, of different characters, that have a tendency to cause 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 11 

the merchants to sell at as low a margin as they do, notwith- 
standing the merchants of Europe are selling under a private 
costmark, without any lawful, specified margin. Europe 
having natural restrictions has probably been saved a great 
deal of the hard experience that we (Young America) have 
realized within the last thirty years. We must bear in mind 
that modern Europe is still considered a cheat. 

Her mode of selling her merchandise today, under a pri- 
vate costmark, without any lawful margin, is probably the 
same mode that was established one thousand years ago. 
She today is probably tied hand and foot, by use and cus- 
tom. Could Europe be able to establish a natural law, 
establish a law from nature, instead of from "use and custom," 
establish a law that was strong enough to force her merchants 
to utilize a public costmark, and sell at low enough a margin 
to keep off too much competition, she probably would be 
able to "hit the nail upon the head." This one natural law 
might be worth more than all the laws that Europe ever 
established. This is about the only or main law that the 
Jews utilize today among themselves ; and they don't seem 
to require but few if any more laws. One good natural law 
of the right character is worth a dozen borrowed ones. 

Opposition, that robs the non-productive merchant out of 
his rightful share of patronage, is the biggest thief that ever 
went unhung. And yet our laws are too weak to control 
this monster. We kill our merchants with kindness. We 
have no established law that will enable our merchants to 
protect themselves from the world's worst enemy, opposition. 
We are unable to produce "a land flowing with milk and 
honey," so the poorest of our poor could obtain all of the 
necessities, if not the luxuries, of life. We cannot all prosper 
in a flourishing manner, because we are placed in a condition 
that we are forced to prey upon each other. 

Should you find yourself in the mercantile business in 
a small infant village, yours being the only business house 
carrying a variety of different kinds of wares ; should oppo- 
sition, in the shape of an opponent, open up a business house 



12 

in opposition to you r . the community might claim that 
this opposition, this opponent, was the life of trade This 
opponent is supposed to protect the community from being 
swindled or from being overcharged by you. He is supposed 
to act as a substitute instead of a law. When the commu- 
nity claims, that this opposition is the life of trade, it insults 
yourself, if you knew how to appreciate this compliment. 
If necessity required this opposition ; if the business of the 
village actually demanded this extra business house, that 
is a horse of another color ; but most "additions" are gener- 
ally erected before they are required. But "where the com- 
munity claims that this unnecessary business house, this op- 
position, is the life of trade, it seems to doubt your fidelity. 

If it wishes you to sell at a low or lower margin, it is 
going in the exact opposite direction to accomplish this result 
by having one of its number to go into the business, and rab 
you of one half your original share of trade. It might prove 
much better for the community and yourself, for all concerned, 
to do away with this superstitious delusion, your nation es- 
tablish a given lawful margin, while you sell at this margin, 
under a public costmark. This opponent will rob you of 
one half your patronage, force you to cut your margin, 
after you have been robbed out of one-half your original amount 
of patronage. It will make no difference at how low a margin 
your opponent and self sell at, after the patronage is divided 
up between the -'two of you;" you could have sold at one 
hundred per cent, less the margin, with all your original share 
of patronage, and fared the same. This lower margin would 
have allowed the community to have prospered the more, 
and given you the more patronage each succeeding year. 
Your margin should be so low that it would be inconvenient 
for you to go below it. This low margin would protect your 
trade, prove the life of your trade, while it would keep off 
the modern world's worst enemy, opposition, till necessity 
required the erection of this second business house, the same 
as it required the first. Where a non-productive business 
house is required, and where the non-productive merchant 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 13 

sells at as low a margin as conscience will admit of, it is 
one of the greatest temporal blessings that can benefit man- 
kind. But where there are too great a number of necessary 
business houses established, a portion of them will prove to 
be unnecessary necessities. An unnecesary necessity of the 
business house character is one of the worst temporal curses 
that mankind is subjected to, because the community is 
forced to sustain these non-productive unnecessary necessities. 
If you were forced to wear a thick, heavy, woolen overcoat, 
"all buttoned down before," on the fourth day of July, then 
you would be forced to patronize an unnecessary necessity. 
You would be "as hot as love in August." Somewhat similar 
to a hen in a wool basket, you could sweat if you could (or 
did) not swear. 

Whenever a moneyed gentleman comes to your village, 
you all rush up to him, shake him by the hand up to the 
elbow, put him on the near shoulder and tell him that he is the 
very man that you all have been looking for, that he is the 
right man in the right place ; you know he has got "sense 
like a mule," and will go into the mercantile business in your 
village, so as to help your little city which already has too 
many merchants, to rob each other out of his rightful share 
of patronage. But this is a mistaken idea. 

The safest way to act toward a dead rank stranger, is 
to treat him as a perfect gentleman, and should he turn out 
to be a grand rascal, don't allow him to surprise you in the 
least. The next moneyed man that comes to your village, 
and speaks of going into the "business" endeavor to tackle 
him in a "single handed game" of talk. Tell him that the 
"business" has been overdone ever since New York was a 
territory. That your village needed "buyers," not "sellers," 
that the community is already sold to death. 

Beg of him not to go into the mercantile business, but 
if he has capital and rich relations, try and pursuade him to 
send for his rich relations, so he and his rich relations may 
dwell in your community, and help your community to pat- 
ronize your city's too great a number of non-productive busi- 



14 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE 

ness houses. He may claim that he cannot make a livelihood 
simply by patronizing a non productive enterprise. But he 
will have just as good a chance to make a livelihood as the 
rest of the "dry cattle." He can try his hand at farming, 
raising pork and hominy. He may imagine that too much 
meat and bread stuffs are raised, but this probably is a mistake 
A hungry tramp will eat just as much as a dyspeptic million- 
aire. 

Millions of our poor go to bed hungry and barefooted. 
The demand for meat and bread stuffs may have slackened on 
account of the want of means, and not on account of the 
want of an appetite. Sixty-five millions of people will eat up a 
great quantity of "grub" in a twelve-month time, if they 
can get at it ; besides, what they would not waste. Probably, 
the modern world has never raised enough meat and bread 
stuff, since she has been considered a cheat. Has the modern 
world's poor ever had enough meat and bread stuff ? After 
you imbibe too much "red licquer," you naturally imagine 
the world is "full," while it is only yourself that is a little 
too full. Under the same principle after we eat a hearty 
meal we imagine that no one else is "hongry." Millions of 
the enlightened world's poor simply exist a living death, 
exist upon one half rashions. "Lay on McDuff and d — n he 
who first cries enough." It may not be that too great amount 
of literature is published, that our country is overstocked 
with the same, but it is the small amount that is read. Sixty- 
five millions of people will read up a great deal of good, bad or 
indifferent literature, where they get proper protection. 
Literature, somewhat like your nose, it may be red (read). 

Millions of our poor are unable to purchase a dime novel, 
a great number of our poor are unable to read one if they 
could purchase the same. The cheaper we can sell the 
necessities and luxuries of life, the cheaper we can raise and 
manufacture the same. The cheaper the necessities and lux- 
uries of life can be put upon the market, the better our trade, 
the better our people can prosper. What is cheap rates, low 
margins and cheap prices ? Poe says : "We can only recog- 



15 

nize good and ill, by comparison." It used to cost twenty- 
five cents to send a letter one hundred miles; today, you 
can send a letter "across the continent," for two cents. After 
postage had fallen from twenty-five cents to ten the people 
then may have imagined that postage was cheap, because 
they then had not had a fair chance to make a comparison. 

We should not pay all our attention to the price of wares, 
but should know what margin our several merchants were 
charging us for handling the necessities of life. A merchant 
may imagine he is selling cheap, while he is realizing too 
much profit on account of the little amount of patronage he 
is able to obtain. Procuring the necessities of life, when the 
merchant is utilizing a private costmark, is too much like 
going against "the blind tiger." It is simply a borrowed 
idea. Where a merchant is utilizing a private costmark, he 
is not got any the best but the worst of the bargain ; he is 
unable to protect himself against opposition, the world's 
worst thief, who is probably "a son of a gun" (on his 
"daddy's side." We restrict the miller because our laws are 
superior to the miller's toll limit. But we cannot restrict 
and protect the merchant, till after our laws are superior to 
the merchant's margin. 

In some of our States, a miller is allowed one eighth, 
(twelve and one-half per cent) toll for grinding corn. This 
lawful toll limit protects the community from being over- 
charged for toll, while it protects the miller against too much 
opposition. Too much opposition cannot overcrowd the 
miller, because his limit cannot be raised without breaking 
our law. The miller may own his mill, why restrict him? 
This is a free country. If the miller overcharges go to some 
other mill. We restrict the miller, because Europe taught 
us. Had Europe taught us to have restricted the merchant, 
we could have sold cheap, then, we could have learned to have 
manufactured different kinds of wares as cheap as Europe and 
cut off billions of exports to this country. 

Europe may not have introduced the private costmark 
with any evil intent. She probably is perfectly harmless, 



16 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

if not handsome. She utilizes the private costmark where it 
is detrimental to her own interest, but "evil is wrought 
through want of thought, the same as through want of heart." 
We restrict the miller because Christ commanded : "thou 
shalt not steal," and because, the miller is engaged in a non- 
productive enterprise. Only a few of the necessities of life 
pass through the hands of the miller, while most all the ne- 
cessities of life pass through the hands of the merchant. 
"There is but one God." If it is a sin for the miller to over- 
charge, over speculate, is it not a sin for the merchant to over 
speculate? The miller is not generally robbed out of his 
share of patronage, while the merchant is. The public toll 
dish is the miller's best friend, while the private costmark is 
the merchant's worst enemy. Christ commanded : "Thou 
shalt not steal," this includes all cheats. All cheats are thefts ; 
and all thefts are cheats. A cheat is simply a theft shielded 
under a form. Christ commanded: "Thou shalt not steal," 
in order that we might protect ourselves from ourselves, so 
that we might prosper, and enjoy the temporal blessings 
of this life in full. When we utilize opposition, to con- 
trol the rates and prices of non-productive enterprises, 
we ignore the commandment, and utilize opposition as a 
snbstitute. Modern Europe probably, borrowed this idea 
one thousand years ago from her great grand forefathers. 
Should you borrow a twenty dollar gold piece, you should 
pay it back, but should you borrow a counterfeited twenty 
dollar bill, you should be sure and return the same because 
you might die, and your own descendents might suffer 
through handling counterfeit money. Today we may be 
laboring under opinions and sentiment that have been bor- 
rowed from the remote dark ages. 

After our communities are impoverished, it is natural 
to see a passenger train pull up to the end of her division, 
wiih about a dozen tramps obtaining a free ride upon the 
cow catcher in front, while one or more professionals are ob- 
taining a free ride upon a complimentary ticket in the sleepers 
behind. The passenger coaches being empty and void, 



17 

except about two salesmen, drumming for some New York 
snide jewelry house, who now may be drunk, or asleep, or 
probably, both, while riding on a half rate commercial ticket. 

The railway company may be forced to entertain a 
''receiver" at tea and between meals at this end of the division, 
the employes striking for higher wages at both, while, the 
community all up and down the line is "kicking'' on account 
of high rates. The thief competition, alias opposition, is 
the true cause of all the trouble. Who is the hardest thief 
to run down and convict, that ever roamed at large ? 

We may not have too great a number of non-productive 
enterprises in proportion to the size of our country ; but too 
great a number in proportion to our pocket book. It re- 
quires more or less gold (and silver) to sustain non-produc- 
tive enterprises. We have about four non-productive busi- 
ness houses, where one might prove all sufficient. Should 
we happen to "freeze" in this condition, we would show up 
according to Mark Twain's phrase, "perfectly ridiculous." 



Chapter II. — Imitations. 

A nation should ascertain the vital necessity of protect- 
ing herself and her people from counterfeited, imitated, cut 
and adulterated wares of merchandise. She should use the 
same precaution in this as she would to protect them and the 
treasury from counterfeited money. 

Counterfeited wares of merchandise may prove more 
dangerous and disastrous to a nation than counterfeited money. 

2* 



18 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

Counterfeited wares of merchandise emit no smoke or flames 
but feed and prey principally upon the poor and otherwise 
ignorant classes who look to the rich and otherwise intelli- 
gent classes of controlling influence for protection. Most 
all counterfeited, imitated, cut and adulterated wares of mer- 
chandise, are manufactured for the accommodation of our 
poor. We all admit that it is cheaper to buy a good article 
(in this country) at an advanced price, than to purchase a 
cheap article at a cheap price. This probably is because we 
manufacture imitations and wares of too inferior a quality to 
pay for the time, means and labor it requires to manufacture 
the same. 

But through this means our poor are unable to obtain 
value received in procuring the necessities of life. We should 
manufacture strong substantial wares for the accommodation 
of our people — our poor. Should you attempt to manufacture 
imitations, you first must expend about the same amount of 
means in erecting a factory for this purpose, as to erect a 
factory to manufacture geuuine articles. It requires more 
time, labor and means to work up an article out of too inferior 
a material, than to shape and work up an article out of a bet- 
ter material. After an article is manufactured out of too in- 
ferior a material, it requires more time, means and labor to 
make an article resemble what it really is not. It requires 
so many more extra strokes and finishing touches, that when 
an imitated article is placed beside a genuine one according 
to real worth and value, it is bound to "fall short" and come 
under the heading "too much sugar for a dime." Besides 
the counterfeits that we manufacture, we manufacture too in- 
ferior articles out of too inferior material, which are too awfully 
worthless to be placed upon an intelligent Christian's market. 
Christ commanded : "Thou shalt not steal." This includes 
every cheat of every character. It is impossible to cheat 
your fellow man in any shape, form or fashion, without break- 
ing this commandment. 

"Thou shalt not steal" is a commandment for temporal 
use. After we are convinced that all cheats are thefts, and 



"A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 19 

that all thefts are cheats, then we are supposed to determine 
what is cheating. It is a wise man that knows when and 
where he cheats. Anything that has a tendency to impover- 
ish is a cheat. Cheating cannot continue to thrive, not only 
because it is a sin ("it will rain upon the unjust, the same 
as upon the just") but because it has a tendency to impover- 
ish. The golden rule will enable us to determine when we 
are cheating Europe, probably, manufactures few or no 
counterfeited, imitated, cut and adulterated wares of mer- 
chandise, but manufactures straight, coarse, substantial wares 
for the accommodation of her people — her poor. Still the 
modern world — modern Europe — was considered a cheat cen- 
turies before Columbus discovered America. Instead of Eu- 
rope restricting her merchants by forcing them to utilize a 
a public cost mark, and selling at a specified margin, the 
same as the miller who utilizes a public toll-dish and grinds 
at a specified limit on toll, Europe allows competition to rob 
her merchants of their rightful share of patronage, then the 
non-productive mercantile fraternity of Europe falls back upon 
her communities for support. Modern Europe is considered 
a cheat because she sells genuine articles at too high a mar- 
gin and not because she sells imitations at too high a margin. 
Europe may cheat her people for genuine articles, while we 
(young America) cheat our people with a cheat. 

"A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping 
rain that leaveth no food." (Proverbs 28 chapter, 3 verse.) 
Cheating a fellow man with a cheat is, probably, something 
that the enlightened Christian world was never guilty of till 
after we (young America) commenced manufacturing imita- 
tions. Cheating your fellow man with a cheat is similar to 
stabbing a blind man in the back with a poisoned dagger 
during the gloomy shade of night. u Evil is wrought through 
want of thought, the same as through want of heart." When 
I am buying goods from a merchant who handles imitations 
and utilizes a private cost mark at the same time, I realize 
about the same sensation that I realize while I am attempt- 
ing to milk a kicking cow by moonshine. I cannot well de- 



20 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

termine when I may get the worst of the bargain, and have 
a poor chance at best to protect myself. "Self preservation 
is the first law of nature." 

Counterfeited wares of merchandise are somewhat like 
counterfeited money where none is manufactured, none is 
used. A man that is intelligent enough to manufacture a 
ten dollar counterfeit bill is wise enough to know that it is 
a sin. A nation that is intelligent enough to manufacture 
counterfeited wares of merchandise should be wise enough to 
know that it is a sin. The hardest life to live outside of jail 
is to exist in a living death — realize all the known and un- 
known stings of poverty caused through being cheated for a 
cheat from the cradle to the grave. Probably, easier realized 
than explained. One of the almost humiliating deaths to 
experience outside of being hung is, probably, to have death 
hastened, life cut off, by impoverishment through being cheated 
for a cheat, from the cradle to the grave. Probably, much 
easier realized than explained. You must realize the sting 
of a wasp before you can know how much pain it can inflict. 
You cannot defraud your fellow man out of the value of a 
brass pin without laying yourself liable for murder. Because 
defrauding will impoverish, and impoverishment will hasten 
death, cut off life. The last straw that is laid upon the 
camel's back may be none the less guilty than its predeces- 
sors. All cheats are thefts and all thefts are cheats. Show 
me a cheat and nine times out of ten I will show you a mur- 
derer. We probably, manufacture and utilize more snide 
jewelry and whiskey than the remainder of the whole uni- 
verse. Our New York milk men once attempted to adulter- 
ate their milk and might have made a success at the business 
but they sold their adulterated milk to some of the rich and 
otherwise intelligent classes of controlling influence. So our 
milk, somewhat like our tea (that was thrown overboard) 
was inquired into. 

You may sell adulterated whiskey ; our men, of control- 
ling influence, don't drink whiskey (that is adulterated), and 
never inquire into the matter. 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 21 

At the close of the Revolutionary war, we were one 
nation of people ; at the close of the late rebellion, we were 
two nations combined into one. Before the rebellion, while 
we were one nation, we had too much respect for each other 
to manufacture and sell each other counterfeited wares of 
merchandise. Before the rebellion we manufactured few or 
no imitations ; before the rebellion the whole Union flourished 
and prospered. As long as we continued to manufacture 
nothing but genuine articles, so long did a rich flowing 
immigration continue to immigrate to the New World. Just 
after the late rebellion some of us commenced to manufacture 
imitations, to accommodate our poorer classes, instead of 
straight, coarse, substantial wares. Today we have thous- 
ands of factory hands employed in manufacturing imitations. 
Our factory hands are forced to utilize imitations, and of ttimes 
"strike" for higher wages to offset the cheat that they are 
subjected to. We know how to sympathize with "strikers," 
who are engaged in manufacturing genuine articles, but to 
sympathize and weep for ''strikers'' who are engaged in 
manufacturing cheats, it is liable to make us so awfully cross- 
eyed as to cause our tears to flow down our backs instead of 
our cheeks. Ofttimes, hands employed in manufacturing 
cheats "strike" harder than hands do who are engaged in 
manufacturing genuine articles. 

Should you find yourself employed in manufacturing 
cheats, don't "strike." We would dislike to be found dead, 
and would be ashamed to be found drunk, with your imitated 
wares upon our person. 

Never "strike" while you are employed in manufacturing 
cheats, but go to your employer aud demand a rightful share 
of interest ; force your employer to acknowledge that "there 
is honesty among thieves." 

The cheaper a nation can manufacture and sell a gen- 
uine article the greater the blessing, but the dearer they 
manufacture and sell an imitation the greater the curse. 
"A city set upon a hill cannot be hid." It may be bad 
enough to be overcharged for genuine articles, but to be 



22 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

cheated for a cheat, it is "perfectly ridiculous." Modern 
Europe has always been considered a cheat, although she 
may have manufactured few or no imitations, (cheats.) 
Europe may be cutting off the lives of thousands of her 
people — her poor — annually, by overcharging them for the 
necessities of life, overcharging them for genuine articles ; 
cheating them for straight substantial wares. Europe may 
be hastening the death of her poor and at the same time 
ignorant of the fact. "Ignorance is sin." Europe might 
continue to hasten death, cut off life for centuries to come, 
and still might continue to be ignorant of this fact. But by 
young America cheating her people, her poor, for a cheat ; 
we easily discover the sin and folly of all cheats, of all char- 
acters, that are shielded under different forms, in the short 
space of thirty years time. 

Europe may have been cheating her people — her poor — "to 
the death," by selling genuine articles at too high a margin, 
while Young America, probably, is the first Christian nation 
that ever overcharged for imitations, that ever cheated for a 
cheat. If you are cheated for a cheat on so large and grand 
a scale since the world was created for thirty years without 
cessation you will be enabled to ascertain a great deal hard, 
common heel sense ; provided, you are not too careless an ob- 
server. "Experience, " hard experience, "is our best teacher," 
because we ignore temporal truths, to too, great an extent to 
be taught otherwise. 

"Criticism is the life of wisdom." Kill out our critics, 
then we might degenerate down to the savage. The critics 
licks should be as light and soft as snow falling in mid ocean. 
The modern, enlightened, gentile, Christian world has ignored 
temporal truths to such a great extent, that when we now 
attempt to criticise, in the least, it may seem that we criticise 
too severely ; because we naturally collide, so abruptly, with 
items of vital importance that have been totally ignored. 
What is criticism ? Some criticise with the pen, some with 
the sword and some with a club. When the North freed our 
slaves and burned our property, and killed some of our best 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 23 

men, (it is generally the best who die first : that probably 
accounts for the great number of our mean men and for so 
small a number of our good men today ;) this was criticism 
in its strongest terms. Since the North criticised so severely 
upon us Rebels with the sword, we have been itching for the 
longest to retaliate with oar pencil. We have been watching 
Mr. Yankee with the tail of our eye for the last thirty years. 
The Yankee bears the credit of first making wooden nutmegs, 
horn flints and oak leaf cigars. He first commenced manu- 
facturing "imitations" just for fun, but later on he got in 
earnest. After the Yankee beat us Rebels with the sword he 
was so much elated that it seems that he attempted to beat 
the whole world in manufacturing imitations. And to our 
sorrow he has succeeded wonderfully. During the four 
years of the rebellion the darkies could afford to allow the 
Yankee to shoot over their woolly heads at us Rebels, the 
darkies could dodge behind a tree or rock, but since the 
Yankee has been shooting imitations for thirty years without 
cessation, the poor darkies have "surrendered," thrown up 
their black ebony hands, and "'clared, 'fo goodness," they 
"hab 'nuff" and are willing to go to Mexico, Liberia or most 
any place in order to get out of range of the minnie ball. 
The further a minnie ball travels the less the danger ; the 
further an imitation travels the more dangerous it becomes. 
The Yankee claimed that some of our slave owners hastened 
the death of some of the slaves by over abuse. This may be 
all too true; we acknowledge the corn. But how many 
darkies lives have been cut off since the rebellion through 
being impoverished from utilizing imitations ? Not counting 
in the poor white trash. The darkies that have had death 
hastened from utilizing imitations are just as dead as those 
that died from over abuse. "Their graves are green, they 
may be seen." 

The poor twice abused slaves, it so happened that when 
they gained their liberty, they lost their living. Before the 
rebellion we utilized few or no imitations, but it so happened 
that as soon as the darkies were freed, imitations became the 



24 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

folly and fashion of the day. We may ofttimes imagine that 
the darkies fared better while they were in bondage before 
they were freed, than they have fared since. 

Our poor "white trash" fared better before the rebellion 
than since ; because, before the rebellion we then were not 
cheated for a cheat. The Yankee has beaten the world on 
imitations, now we are dead stuck to have him try his hand 
upon a genuine article, probably he may be able to beat the 
world on manufacturing genuine articles also. 

Of late years, the South may manufacture more or less 
goods, bad and indifferent wares of merchandise. She may 
manufacture imitations the same as our brother Yankee. But 
who taught the South to manufacture a cheat ? Why, the 
Yankee, of course. It may be true that the South "took to 
the water" rather easily, but Mr. Yankee may bear the credit 
of teaching the South just the same. Our dear brother 
Yankee, "with all his faults, we love him still." Should 
another Boston massacre occur, we today' would drop our 
"claw-hammers" as readily as our forefathers dropped their 
plow handles in days of yore, and go to the rescue. How 
the blood tingles in our veins the moment the patriotic in- 
fluence is felt. Some of us fought, bled and almost died for 
the Southern Confederacy. But there is not one true patriot 
in the South but what would jeopardize and risk his life for 
our dear little Yankee brother today. Bless our ingenious 
Yankee brother, he is sewed onto us with a golden thread. 
The Yankee, with the aid of his ingenuity, has taught not 
only the Squth, but has taught the whole enlightened Chris- 
tian world, the extreme folly of recognizing a cheat of any 
character that is shielded under any kind of a form. He has 
actually made a "farce" of cheating. Had our Yankee 
brother never manufactured a cheat, but had only manu- 
factured genuine articles, he might have continued to have 
cheated our people with genuine articles for ages to come, 
without being any the wiser ; but by our brother Yankee keep- 
ing the Union flooded with imitations for thirty years, it 
shows the extreme folly of cheating the plainer upon the 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 25 

top surface. So now, we can see the folly of cheating as 
"plain as the nose on your face." Our Yankee brother has 
brought the act of cheating down to a crisis, so that we can 
see the folly of the same the plainer. We have been living 
in a leaky house for ages past ; but our Yankee brother 
within the last thirty years has torn off the roof, so that we 
would not only get a good drenching, but have a little "light" 
upon the subject. Heretofore, too great a per cent, of us 
have been making an honest living in a dishonest way. "An 
honest man is the noblest work of God." Too great a per 
cent, of us, should we wait till we made an honest dollar be- 
fore we bought a rope and hung ourselves, might live to a 
ripe old age, then die a natural death. Too great a per cent, 
of us are somewhat like a wood-chuck, forced to make a 
livelihood with our head instead of our claws. 

"When we can see our imperfections, we are learning 
wisdom." "None are so blind as those that will not see." 
"The North and the South are branches of the same parent 
tree, and the lightning bolt that shivers the one must scortch 
and wither the other." 



Chapter III.— The "Sunny, Sandy South." 

In good old "slavery time," prior to the late rebellion, 
selling merchandise in the South was somewhat different to 
what it has been "since the war." 

Before the late rebellion, a slave owner would buy forty, 
more or less, pairs of shoes at one time for his slaves. 
Straight, coarse, good, substantial shoes, manufactured of 



26 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

straight, substantial leather. The slave owner would pay- 
about 11.25 per pair. He would buy molasses by the barrel, 
instead of by the quart or gallon, at about forty cents per 
gallon ; cloth by the bolt, and not by the yard. The slave 
owner would buy all the merchandise that his slaves utilized, 
as well as all the merchandise that his family and self re- 
quired, in large quantities at a time, on the quick sale and 
small profit order. The southern merchant would charge a 
"poor white man" fifteen cents lor one quart of molasses, in- 
stead of ten ; because, said poor white man bought in so 
small a quantity at one time. The poor were charged fifty 
per cent, more than the rich slave owner, simply because he 
only bought one quart at a time. The poor may have been 
overcharged in nearly like manner for all purchasers bought 
in too small quantities at a time. The poor, they were over- 
charged for straight goods, we had not yet learned how to 
manufacture imitations. The rich slave owners bought all 
the merchandise that the southern darkies utilized. It is 
about as easy to persuade a rich New Yorker to drink 
adulterated milk, as it would have been to have persuaded a 
rich slave owner to have bought imitations for his slaves. 
The slave owners clothed their own slaves while the slaves 
were in bondage. Then, there was no southern market for 
imitations. The few southern poor white people did not buy 
any new clothes, but wore their old ones. The southern 
merchant would sell to forty customers through the rich slave 
owner, on the quick sale and small profit order, to one 
customer on the slow sale and large profit order. As the 
merchant only overcharged one of his customers out of forty* 
and only overcharged said one customer for straight goods, 
it did not amount to much. He still could protect himself 
against too much opposition to a certain extent, because he 
was selling to the main bulk of his patrons on the quick sale 
and small profit order ; selling the lowest while the demand 
was the greatest. By the southern mercantile fraternity, 
selling the lowest while the demand was the greatest, selling 
on the small profit order to the main bulk of the South, the 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 27 

whole "Sunny, Sandy South" flourished and prospered. But 
"after the war was over, after the darkies were freed," sell- 
ing straight goods on the small profit order almost went out 
of fashion. 

Directly after the surrender the whole South was a 
complete mass of impoverished widows and orphans, freed 
without-a-dime darkies, and a few (somewhat like the author) 
financially broken up white men. Most of the community 
could only 

Buy their molasses by the quart, 

Sugar by the pound ; 
Drink their bowl of buttermilk 

With a spoon to stir it 'round. 

Before the rebellion, the southern mercantile fraternity 
had learned how to protect themselves against too much op- 
position (to a certain extent) while selling to the rich or 
parties buying in large quantities at a time, but had not 
learned how to protect themselves against too much op- 
position while selling to the poor or parties buying in small 
quantities at a time. When they sold to the rich slave 
owner, they sold on the small profit order, but before the 
merchants of the South could learn how to sell to all alike, 
so as to protect themselves against too much opposition under 
any and all circumstances, the "cruel war" broke up this 
almost complete, naturally formed combination. 

Just as the young archer was learning to shoot, the cord 
broke in twain. Just as the "Sunny, Sandy South" was 
ready to unlock the door of wisdom that leads to success, 
the "key" was snatched from her "lilly white" hands and 
thrown in the well. 

The South had learned how to sell the lowest, while the 
demand was the greatest, to a few who bought in large quan- 
tities at a time. Could she have learned how to have sold 
the lowest, while the demand was the greatest to a greater 
number who bought in small quantities at a time, she 
would have unlocked the door that leads to success. What 



28 

a pity the South came so near discovering the "key" that 
unlocks the door of wisdom, that leads to success ; then 
failed. Had the South ascertained how to have had pity upon 
her poor, how easily the South could have recovered from 
the effects of the reverses of war. Where the poor are over- 
charged because they buy iD small quantities, the merchant 
makes the greater part of his gains off of the poor and the 
less amount of gains off of the rich, which has a tendency to 
cause our poor to become poorer, and our rich to become 
richer. A miller charges a poor man one-eighth toll, and 
cannot afford to grind for the rich man for any less. A 
retail merchant should sell so cheap to the poor, that he could 
not afford to sell any cheaper to the rich, then the merchant 
would derive a greater profit off of the rich. Then should 
the country, or part of the country, be forced to undergo the 
reverses of war, forcing the overwhelming majority over 
on the poor side of the branch, the main bulk of the com- 
munity would not be overcharged for the necessities of life ; 
and would have a fair chance to recover from the reverses of 
war ; besides the merchant could continue to protect himself 
from too much opposition, to a great extent. 

A merchant cannot obtain the best of the bargain and 
protect himself against too much opposition at one and the 
same time unless he could obtain a patent right. But our 
mercantile fraternity have always been under the impression 
that competition and opposition were the life of trade ; never 
feared opposition, so never have attempted to keep off oppo- 
sition by selling at a low margin. 

Directly after the surrender, the Southern merchants 
continued to overcharge the poor, because they bought in 
small quantities, notwithstanding the whole "Sunny, Sandy 
South" had just realized the hard, sad experience of under- 
going the reverses of war, and the main bulk of the South on 
the poor side of the branch. Just after the surrender, the 
merchants had forty poor customers to one rich, who was 
able to buy in large quantities. By the merchants over- 
charging the bulk of their customers, the main bulk of the 



"A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 29 

South, were overcharged for the necessities of life, so the 
South had a poor chance at best to recover from the effects of 
the reverses of war. 

The late rebellion was somewhat different from the other 
wars we had prior ; it was the first instance where the Union 
or a part of the Union had to undergo the reverses of war. 
After a nation, or part of a nation, is forced to undergo the 
reverses of war, it should be entitled to more or less consid- 
eration, if not pity. The South may have been in the wrong, 
it is true ; yet had the whole Union been fighting a foreign 
enemy, our Southern soldiers probably would have fought 
just as hard for the Union as they fought for the "lost cause." 
Before the rebellion the merchants protected themselves 
against too much opposition (to a certain extent) by selling 
on the small profit order to the main bulk of the South ; 
but after the war, when the merchants overcharged forty to 
one, it took the door from off of its hinges that kept off 
opposition. Before the war we had few imitations, then we 
had less the number of business houses, according to the 
financial condition of the South, but since the war thousands 
of business houses have sprung up in the South, (and else- 
where) because the poor are charged more than the rich, 
because the poor buy in small quantities ; while tens of 
thousands of business houses have been erected, because a 
greater per cent, can be more readily and easily realized off 
of imitations than goods of a better grade. You can rob 
more people with a bolt of imitated cloth, than with a deck 
of marked cards. Most all are forced to buy (or steal) 
clothing while none are compelled to play at cards. Card 
playing is an unnecessary evil, while buying wares of mer- 
chandise is a necessity. After a necessity is connected with 
an evil, it then is much worse than an unnecessary evil. 
We are forced to patronize a necessary evil, while we are not 
forced to patronize an unnecessary evil. "The pen is mightier 
than the sword," but the fatal "hammer" (if not restricted) 
is mightier than the two combined. No modern pen has yet 
been able to cope with the fatal "hammer." After Gen. 



Cornwallis surrendered, we turned our swords into plow- 
shares ; after Gen. Lee surrendered, we turned our swords 
into claw-hammers. When the North and South laid down 
the sword they both took up a more destructive weapon, 
the fatal "hammer," and never laid it aside till after they had 
erected enough business houses to endanger twice as good a 
financial conditioned country as Young America. We have 
pn hand today, probably enough non-productive business 
houses to accommodate the enlightened world. The North 
beat the South with the sword, but the "Sunny, Sandy South" 
teat the North "all out of hollow" with the hammer, and 
erected two business houses to the North's one, according to 
the South's financial condition. But built the great number 
of business houses in order to be the better enabled to "work 
.off ' the great amount of "imitations" that the Yankee (or 
some one else) were manufacturing to accommodate our 
poor. You may gain a law suit, and yet come off looser. 
You may gain a great victory in battle, but wind up looser, 
financially, in the end. The North freed and burned more or 
less property, but did not confiscate enough, to pay her for 
her trouble. 

The South had to undergo the effects of the reverses of 
war, while the North had to undergo the effects of war. The 
communities of the North were in a financial weaker condition 
after the war than just prior. She had her hosts of widows 
and orphans to support. Just after the surrender, it seems 
that the whole Union become perfectly "carried, away with 
their idea" of erecting non-productive business houses and 
railroads as though our entire population were so many 
Rothschilds. 

Instead of the Union allowing the South to recover from 
the reverses, and the North from the effects of war, the Union 
crowded her impoverished people with non-productive enter- 
prises. 

A non-productive enterprise is a blessing where and 
when it is needed, but where an unnecessary non-productive 
necessity is forced upon the people, it is one of the most dan- 



u A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 31 

gerous natural curses. There probably never has been a 
supernatural curse since Christ became our "Mediator." But 
it is only the poor who suffer the extreme through our folly. 
A young nation should endeavor to ascertain how to "go 
slow and learn to peddle " 

Directly after the rebellion, some of our Southerners 
took advantage of our bankrupt law ; this was caused from 
the effects of the reverses of war. The weight of our bank- 
rupt law fell upon our several creditors. Later on, an indef- 
inite number of our merchants took advantage of our "failure" 
law (if it could be termed a law) ; this was caused by too 
much opposition between our non-productive mercantile fra- 
ternity. They had become "too thick to thrive." But where 
did the weight (and where does the weight) of our "failures" 
fall ? The wholesaler as well as the manufacturer, for fear 
of failures, added on a per cent, to cover the same. As a 
greater per cent, can be more readily and easily realized off 
of imitations than goods of a better grade, a greater per 
cent, was added on to imitations. As the South had not re- 
covered from the effects of the reverses of war. The "Sunny, 
Sandy South" was a near and handy market for these imi- 
tations. So the poor of the South had to "carry the big end 
of the log," and were not only overcharged through imita- 
tions to help pay for the failures that transpired throughout 
the South, but were overcharged to help pay for all the fail- 
ures that transpired throughout the whole United States of 
America. Explaining temporal truths of vital importance is 
somewhat like explaining spiritual truths of vital importance ; 
what we don't re ally know we are forced to "guess." We do 
not presume to assent that every wholesaler and every man- 
ufacturer added on a per cent, to cover failures, but we are 
following a chain of circumstantial evidence. No wholesaler 
or manufacturer is supposed to be guilty of adding on this 
per cent, unless he actually did so. So no one will take any 
exceptions to this statement, unless he is guilty. This book 
is supposed to be our manufacturer's and merchant's friend. 
The honest merchant is always almost forced to shield the 



32 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 

dishonest merchant, (if there is such a thing as a dishonest 
merchant). Our chain of circumstantial evidence shows 
that our communities were taxed, more or less, to cover said 
failures. Today "business" in general is rather a "drag" 
upon the market. Our shoe and dry goods wholesaler, for 
fear that too great amount of his goods will be left upon his 
hands and fall under the hammer at auction at too great a 
sacrifice, adds about the same now on imitations to make up 
for the deficiency of too great amount sold under the hammer, 
as were added on to imitations when failures were the fashion 
and folly of the day. So today, the poor of the South are 
not only overcharged through imitations to make up for the 
deficiency of auction bought goods that are sold in the South, 
but are forced to pay the greater part to make up for the 
deficiency of all auction bought goods that are sold through- 
out the Union. So, now-a-days, we are not surprised to see 
notices, in our daily papers, advertisements for "southern 
immigration." 

Thousands of our southern farmers' have been forced to 
mortgage and loose their "Sunny, Sand}', Southern Home ; 
sweet homes and farms ;" go to the public works and "jine" 
in the "strikes." Thousands of our southern city citizens 
have been forced to mortgage and loose their houses and lots 
in order to keep the overgrown "wolf from the door." Our 
once little gray wolf has grown to the enormous size of a 
"white elephant." A great per cent, of our southern farmers 
have degenerated down to the pauper as natural as tad- poles, 
turn to frogs. It is not only our southern farmers but our 
communities throughout the Union are becoming the more 
impoverished each succeeding year. 

"Leaf by leaf the roses fall, 

Drop by drop the spring runs dry." 

As fast as our well-to do fall over on the poor side of 
the branch, so soon are they forgotten and ignored by their 
former mates. They seem to loose all energy after they have 
lost their controlling influence. What they may ascertain 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 33 

through hard, sad experience, is like the wild rose that bloomed, 
faded, and died totally ignored. You must realize the sting 
of a wasp, before you can know how much pain it can inflict. 
Many a Southern farmer has quit the home and farm and 
gone into the mercantile business. These Southern farmers 
did not quit the farm because their slaves were freed, neither 
did they quit off for fear that ploughing in hard ground with 
a dull plow would make them hump-shouldered and spoil the 
gate of their walk, but being overcharged for the necessities 
of life, they were forced to drop the plow handles and take 
up the yard stick in order to obtain a lever power to off-set 
the overcharge that they were subjected to. It is a great 
scheme, now-a-days, to live in a town, village or city, where 
you can have a chance to wear your Sunday clothes on week 
days and eat flour vituals the whole year round without work- 
ing a lick in the field. 

If you were forced to utilize one gallon of whiskey ex- 
ternally or otherwise, and if whiskey was sold at too high a 
price, you might be forced to go into the saloon business in 
order to obtain this gallon daily and keep it up. After the 
necessities of life are put on the market at too high a price, 
thousands are forced into the mercantile business in order to 
obtain the necessities of life. They thereby manage to pro- 
cure their wares from the wholesaler at a cheaper rate than 
they could before they went into the business. A man will 
ofttimes go into a leaky house in order to get in out of the 
wet. 




34 " A L[VE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM.' 



Chapter IV. — A True Patriot. 

Because we rush into the parlor and dust our Bible 
after the good minister has arrived at the gate, is no reason 
why we should be considered a true Christian. Because we 
are first to volunteer, after Uncle Sam has called for troops, 
is no reason why we should be considered a true patriot. In 
time of peace prepare for war ; in preparing for war there is 
else to do outside of molding bullets. A true patriot will 
look to the welfare of the community, at large, in time of 
peace. 

A monarch is forced to respect his subjects — his people, 
in time of peace, in order to have his people respect him in 
time of war. 

A free form of government cannot be an exception to 
this rule. In order to respect our people we should protect 
them. If we protect them in procuring the necessities of life 
we thereby show them the greatest respect. 

Our once well-to-do, who have been forced to mortgage 
and loose their "homes, sweet homes" on account of being 
overcharged for the necessities of life, will not have much 
heart to go and fight voluntarily for country, where they only 
have a wood claim. Should they volunteer, they will not 
have the enerey to buoy them up for a long and tedious siege. 

Should they not volunteer readily, if conscripted, will not 
be worth their room in the army. Their influence will do 
more barm than their shots will do good. Never attempt to 
make soldiers out of tramps. "You cannot gather figs from 
thistles." Conscripts will shirk from their duty, when they 
come to the pinch, and may cause their regiment to be cut 
into pieces on account of their lethargy and inactivit}^. They 
may cause a general to overestimate his strength. When a 
nation, or part of a nation, is forced to conscript too great a 
per cent, of her troops or raw recruits, said nation is in good 
condition to send in orders for white flags. Experience, hard 
experience, has taught some of us this fact. 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 35 

40,000 Americans are living to-day in France, while 
France has 36,000,000 inhabitants, and the Republic lacks 
70,000 square miles being as large as the State of Texas. 
Her meat and bread stuffs are dearer than ours, but her other 
necessities of life are so much cheaper, it overbalances this 
affect. 

France is over-populated compared to this country ; her 
meat and bread-stuffs dearer, but the advantage of her "make- 
shift" of a "live and let live price system," and the disad- 
vantage with us for the need of the same, makes France the 
preferable of the two countries. 

Suppose you were born and raised in young free Amer- 
ica, and you have on hand a sack of gold, also, a wife and 
three little children to mantain and support. Your annual 
expenses may be so great you cannot get into a lucrative 
enough business to meet the demands. Trade being killed, 
you have no material to work on ; you are forced to live too 
fast, at the rate of about forty miles an hour in a kind of a 
"running walk." So you sew up your little, big or indiffer- 
ent sack of gold (or silver) and immigrate to our sister Re- 
public where, if you cannot get into a lucrative business, you 
will have the satisfaction of obtaining nearer the real value of 
your gold, in procuring the necessities of life. There you 
will not be forced to live so fast (in a "running walk.") You 
will not be forced to cheat your fellow man with a cheat in 
order to make an honest living. In return you may be cheated 
(the modern world is considered a cheat). 

Should you take sick and die in France and leave your 
widowed wife and little orphan children in destitute circum- 
stances, (they may be cheated to a certain extent) but will 
not be cheated for a cheat. We (young America) as a young 
nation of people, are forced to compete against Europe to a 
certain extent, else too great a per cent, of our best, honest 
men will leave us and go to France and elsewhere. 

The day on which you leave America and embark for 
France, as your vessel is leaving the wharf, in the far dis- 
tance you strain your already tear dimmed eyes in order to 



36 

take the last look upon your dear young "home, sweet home," 
and native soil, that you never expect to see again, where 
your dear father and sweet, dear, dear mother lie buried side 
by side. You don't mind leaving your country, your native 
home and soil so much. Your native country did not respect 
you by protecting you in procuring the necessities of life for 
your dear beloved family and self, so you can have but little 
respect for your own only native soil. You have naturally 
lost nearly all manhood regarding the promptings of a true 
patriot. You feel as though you were being banished by an 
unseen hand. (There are two different ways to banish — 
one is by force, another by non-protection.) A large lump 
will rise up in your throat when you realize that the patriotic 
influences are really deserting you, but you manage to choke 
it down by promising yourself that you will return in some 
future day when times are better. But when your thoughts 
are carried back to your dear, dear, relatives' graves, that you 
have been keeping green by planting flowers around the same, 
to desert these dear, dear, dumb graves, and your can't-help- 
but-loving-country, because it is your only native soil, to de- 
sert and leave all behind ; it is more than your noble, natural 
manhood will allow you to shake off, so the hot, scalding 
tears will well up in your eyes that seem too bitter to fall. 
What does it take to constitute a true patriot ? What does 
it take to sustain a true patriot ? It is protection. 

If you are immigrating from Europe to this country, 
that is altogether different ; that is natural. Your country 
being over populated, you are benefiting the same and your 
people by leaving and giving them more room, and employ- 
ment for those who may be unable to leave. Your country 
protected you in procuring the necessities of life much bet- 
ter than young America protects her people. Your country 
may not have been able to give you employment, but she 
did give you protection, to a greater extent, than young 
America gives her people. You leave your country in good 
faith ; no other country protected her people any better than 
yours did, and you feel as though you would be willing to 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 37 

return at any distant future day, to take up arms to defend 
your old country, should an enemy threaten the same. 

After you have lived in the New World for years and 
years, you still stick up for the "old country," because the 
"old country" always showed you the more respect, by pro- 
tecting you in procuring the necessities of life. You never 
run the "old country" down ; but maintain a deep, almost 
sacred respect for the same, while some of our American 
born and raised citizens, are continually running down young 
America ; don't respect their own country, because their own 
country don't respect them by protecting them. Europe is 
considered a cheat, but she has a "make-shift" of a "live and 
let live system," while we have no system to speak of of 
this character, but trust almost wholly to "chance." Suppose 
you are a young man living in Europe, having a fair bank 
account, too much for one, and not quite enough for two. 
You, being young and ambitious, would naturally wish to 
invest your means where you could realize the greatest 
profit in the shortest space of time. 

Being well posted on things in general, you probably 
will soliloquize in this manner : "I can live the cheapest 
here in Europe ; but here the laws are rather strict, the rules 
are almost too precise. I will go to free America where I 
can do almost as I choose, where I can invest in some great 
non-productive enterprise, where I will have a chance to 
make a fortune in a few, short years. Then 1 will return to 
Europe with my honest gains, made in a dishonest way, where 
I can live in the finest style at the least expense." So young 
America has her parlor doors standing wide open for all 
syndicates and parties looking for the best of the bargain. 
The reason why "there is no worse a sin than trying to get 
rich in a hurry," is probably because you cannot defraud 
your fellow man out of the value of a brass pin without lay- 
ing yourself liable for murder. We (young America) 
should attempt to protect our mercantile fraternity against 
too much opposition, give our merchants as much patronage 
as European merchants obtain ; then our merchants will be 



38 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

able to sell at as low a margin. After we sell cheaper we 
can manufacture cheaper ; after we place the necessities of 
life as cheap upon the market as Europe, we can protect 
our people in procuring the necessities of life, the same as 
Europe, through this means our own monopolies will be able 
to obtain the necessities of life at a cheaper rate, who can af- 
ford to come down in conformity with the mercantile fra- 
ternity. After we protect ourselves and country against our 
own monopolies and syndicates, we will be in a condition to 
protect ourselves and country against foreign monopolies and 
syndicates. France, as well as all Europe, protects her peo- 
ple in procuring the necessities of life, much better than we. 
Still, modern Europe — the modern world — has always been, 
and yet is considered a cheat. Europe ma}' be playing second 
fiddle while we are hammering away upon the third. 



Chapter V. — A Private Costmark. 

Jamestown, Virginia, was settled in 1607, by some 
London merchants and English noblemen, for the desire of 
commercial adventure. These London mer -hants sold out 
in London and come to this country to embark in the same 
business they were want to follow in London. Why did 
these London merchants sell out in London ? and why come 
to this country and go into the same business ? For the sole 
purpose of commercial adventure. 

It looks reasonable enough for the English noblemen to 
immigrate here and embark in the mercantile business ; but 
for merchants to sell out, sell out their business, for the sole 



w A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 39 

purpose of immigrating to this New World to embark in the 
same business they must have had an object in view ; they 
must have imagined that they would have a chance to real- 
ize a greater profit off of their wares here than in London. 
When Christ commanded : ''Thou shalt not steal," he prob- 
ably intended that the enlightened Christian world, if not 
the whole world, should make laws in compliance with this 
commandment. If a miller in London was allowed toll for 
grinding corn, he probably would not have sold out in order 
to have come to this country in 1607 and grind for the same 
limit. These London merchants came to this country for 
the sole purpose of adventure, and commercial adventure. 
u There is no worse a sin than trying to get rich in a hurry," 
but where the mercantile fraternity attempts to make a for- 
tune in a hurry, it is liable to become too interesting because 
all are compelled to patronize merchandise at all times. 
Where the mercantile fraternity over speculate, then all are 
either forced to over speculate, else suffer the consequence. 
As these adventurers commenced selling the necessities of 
life 289 years ago, our mercantile fraternity have been fol- 
lowing in their wake up-to-date, without once investigating 
this question thoroughly in every detail, in particular. In 
1607 the private costmark was introduced into the New 
World. Because Europe utilized a private costmark, that 
was no reason why young America should utilize the same. 
Probably each European country is forced to make part of a 
livelihood by manufacturing and shipping wares. The main 
secret in manufacturing cheap, is in selling cheap. The 
country that can sell the cheapest to her own people, can be 
the better enabled to manufacture the best grade at the least 
cost and realize the greatest profit off of her exports. Had 
the private costmark never been introduced, a young, new 
country could readily learn to sell cheap to her own people, 
and could thereby readily learn to manufacture different 
kinds of wares, and manufacture just as cheap as an older 
country. The older a country becomes, the wiser she be- 



40 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

comes, and the more advantages she learns to obtain under a 
private costmark. 

The private costmark is to be placed into the hands of 
each new country so said new country will be the longer in 
ascertaining bow to sell cheap in order to manufacture as 
cheap as an older country. Had Europe never utilized thje 
private costmark, but had utilized a public costmark and sold 
at a given margin, the same as a miller who grinds at a cer- 
tain per cent, -'young America" probably would have sold 
just as cheap as Europe, from the start; And after we were 
allowed to manufacture, we could have manufactured and 
learned how to have manufactured different kinds of wares 
just as cheap as Europe. This would have cut off a great 
deal of imports to this country. A new country must first 
ascertain how to "go slow and learn to peddle." The cheaper 
we can sell among ourselves so we will not be forced to live 
in a "running w 7 alk," we will have the more liesure time in 
which to manufacture genuine articles. . 

"Never do your work in a hurry." We never will be 
able to manufacture good, genuine articles, the same as 
Europe, till after we sell to our own people at as low a mar- 
gin as Europe. Where our mode of selling is deranged, it is 
natural t hat our mode of manufacturing will be deranged. 
To manufacture a good, genuine article you need time, "time 
is money." A manufacturer in this country cannot compete 
with a factory in Europe, because the merchants in this 
country sell at too high a margin ; the manufacturer in this 
country is overcharged at every turn and is forced to man- 
ufacture on the "rush" order. A great per cent, of our wares 
are made bv machinery, but such wares are not worth pick- 
ing up in the road. Our hand-made and hand-sewed wares 
are inferior to those imported, because they are manufactured 
in too short a space of time. We have a great many factories ; 
we manufacture a great amount of wares of merchandise; (a 
great deal more than we can sell), yet our intelligent 
moneyed men still patronize European imports in preference 
to our hurried home-made wares of merchandise. We can- 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 41 

not manufacture as good an article as cheap as Europe, be- 
cause we have not yet learned how to sell under a private 
costmark as cheap as Europe. We don't presume to say 
that England or Europe introduced the private costmark into 
the New World through malice or any evil intent. ''Evil is 
wrought through want of thought the same as through want 
of heart." Probably modern Europe has always been used 
and accustomed to the private costmark. Different European 
countries are forced to compete against each other in shipping 
manufactured wares ; each European country is forced to re- 
strict the merchants, notwithstanding they utilize a private 
costmark, while young America has no natural restrictions 
of this character. 

You may afford to overload a wagon and drive down a 
steep incline if you are supplied with a lock chain or wheel- 
break, but if you have no restrictions of this character it is 
hazardous to try the experiment. Surrounding circumstances 
ofttimes force the necessity of altering cases. By each 
European country being forced to compete with each other 
in shipping wares, each country is forced to restrict her mer- 
cantile fraternity. The* country that can manage to restrict 
her mercantile fraternity and not expose her management, 
can the better compete with others, obtain and hold the more 
of the patronage of the world at large, and realize the largest 
profits from its exports. If young America was exactly the 
opposite, a small, poor knoll, over-populated, with her 
natural resourses exhausted, and was forced to make part of 
a livelihood by shipping wares to newer countries that were 
less populated and more abundantly blessed with rich, natural 
resources, then we would need to utilize a private costmark 
and teach these new countries to do the same. These new 
countries might be centuries attempting to ascertain how to 
sell as cheap as we under the private costmark. But during 
these centuries we could be shipping these new countries 
wares that they might have manufactured, had they been 
able to sell as cheap as we. Besides, these new countries 
could not be able to compete with us in shipping wares to 



42 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

any other country and rob us of any of our share of patron- 
age. But there are no more newer countries ; we are "the 
last of the Mohegans." We have no one upon whom to pass 
the joke. We have no new country to cheat unless we turn 
to and cheat ourselves. Uncle Sam has never had any more 
use for a private costmark than a shoat has for a side-saddle. 
This coil of rope was put into Uncle Sam's hands while he 
was yet an urchin, before he knew its purport, so that in 
after years he could go and hang himself with the same ; 
(about what he has done). Probably Europe, today, is un- 
able to define the private costmark ; explain why, and how 
it first germinated into existence and into fashion. It is a 
curse and an imposition upon the whole mercantile fra- 
ternities of the universe. It ties each and every merchant, 
hard and fast, so that he is powerless to protect himsalf 
against the modern world's worst enemy, known as "compe- 
tition." This "town snake" did not show all of its fangs 
till within the last thirty years. We might say that the 
Union has made manufacturing imitations a legitimate busi- 
ness for the last thirty years. Selling genuine articles under 
a private costmark may be bad enough, but selling imitations 
and cheats under the protection of a private costmark, it is 
"perfectly ridiculous." During the last thirty years, prob- 
ably, is the first instance where imitations were ever sold 
under a private costmark. Had it not been for the private 
costmark, today young America probably would not be over 
stocked with counterfeit goods and non-productive business 
houses. 

Should we wish to advance the price of our raw cotton, 
we should attempt to manufacture our cotton goods as cheap 
as possible, then sell the same at as low a margin as possible. 
The cheaper we can manufacture and sell our cotton goods, 
the cheaper we can place cotton goods on the market; the 
more cotton goods that will be consumed, the more of our 
cotton goods that are consumed, the greater will be the de- 
mand for the raw material. We may imagine that high 
priced goods are the life of a country, but this is probably a 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 43 

mistaken idea. The high margin that our several merchants 
may realize, is of no good or benefit to any one or more 
parties. The merchant's high margin simply opens the door 
the wider for the more opposition. The high margin that 
our merchants realize, is death to our home raised, staple raw 
cotton. The lower the margin that our merchants sell cotton, 
(as well as all kind of goods), the more that will be utilized. 
If a merchant realizes twenty per cent, profit off of cotton 
goods, so much wdl be utilized ; but if he only realize five 
per cent, so much the more will be utilized. The more that 
is utilized, the greater will be the demand for the raw mater- 
ial. The demand causes the price of raw cotton to go up, 
and not the great profit that the merchant may realize. Had 
we restricted the merchant at the same date and time we did 
the miller, had we also established a "live and let live price 
system" in its proper form, probably to-day, forty millions or 
more of our poor would be able to utilize bolts of both cotton 
and finer goods, where now they are only able to utilize one 
yard. This would have given European paupers employment 
at home manufacturing said finer goods. By m llions of 
European paupers obtaining said, employment, they would be 
able to utilize bolts of cotton goods where now they are only 
able to utilize one yard. 

By this means young America might raise ten bales of 
cotton where she now raises one, and still not overstock the 
markets. It is not that too great amount of cotton is raised 
that the enlightened world is overstocked with cotton goods, 
it is the little amount that is utilized. Capitalists will not, 
and paupers cannot, utilize cotton goods, it is the well-to-do 
class that utilize this article. 

With our "system" established, say, when we first be- 
come a free republic by first doing away with our private 
costmark, we would have cut off a certain class of Europe's 
exports from this country, the kind that we could have 
learned to manufacture; but millions of our people would be 
in a condition to patronize Europe of what wares we could 
not manufacture. So it would be better for Europe to obtain 



44 

the half of a big loaf, than no loaf. The modern world — 
modern Europe — is considered a cheat, while we acknowledge 
that young America has been speculated (cheated) to death. 
We and Europe have utilized a private costmark till its bad 
effects begin to show the plainer upon the top surface. There 
are a great many things like our backbone ; we know that it 
exists, but we need never expect to see it with your own eyes. 
Seeing ourselves as others see us, is one thing, but seeing 
ourselves as we really are, is a horse of another color. One 
reason why "truth is stranger than fiction" is because we 
have ignored temporal truths to too great an extent. Under 
the weight of our private costmark, forty million, more or 
less, of our American citizens have become so much im- 
poverished that they are unable to patronize either our own 
or Europe's industries. Th*e private costmark places our 
mercantile fraternity in such a position that it cannot protect 
itself against so much opposition ;too much opposition cheats 
our merchants out of their rightful share. of patronage, then, 
our non productive mercantile fraternity is forced to cheat 
the community in return. After the community is over 
charged for the necessities of life, they must need to offset 
this overcharge by every device and vice that surrounding 
circumstances will permit. The greater portion of our de- 
vices today, are vices without the u de." Each European 
country ships wares to this and other countries as a means, 
partly, of a livelihood. No European country is wholly de- 
pendent upon itself — its own people — for patronage ; while 
young America is almost whollv dependent upon herself — her 
own people — for patronage. Europe is independent upon 
herself, but dependent upon other countries for the patronage 
of her manufactured wares, while young America is not 
independent but dependent upon her own people for the 
patronage of her manufactured wares. We may ship a few 
manufactured wares, but we manufacture at so high a cost 
we do not realize much profit from our manufactured wares, 
and we cannot depend on making a livelihood at the business. 
By utilizing a private costmark with no restrictions to 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 45 

speak of, our merchants realizing too large a profit, we are 
unable to check any other kind of enterprise or monopoly. 
All enterprises and monopolies are forced to patronize mer- 
chandise, and are supposed to be checked only in conformity 
with the mercantile fraternity. This is a free country, so to 
speak; fewer restrictions than any other country, yet we re- 
strict the miller and banker. Our public toll-dish forces a 
dishonest miller to be honest, while our priva e costmark 

forces an honest merchant to make an honest living- in a dis- 
cs 

honest way. He is unable to protect himself against too 
much opposition, and after opposition robs him of his right- 
ful share of patronage lie is forced to overcharge his remain- 
ing handful of patrons to make up this deficiency, because 
he is engaged in a non-productive enterprise. After our peo- 
ple are impoverished to too great an extent, who are to pat- 
ronize our enterprises and industries ? 

"While we are sitting with our backs toward a draft, 
our faces are turned toward our coffins." While we are 
spending our precious moments in attempting to obtain blood 
from turnips, we are living with our handsome faces turned 
toward the "poor-house." After Europe oversells her people 
under a private costmark, she ships us her oversold paupers 
while we have no new country to ship our paupers, or Europe's 
oversold paupers to. We may ship a few of our oversold 
darkies to Mexico, but what are we going to do with the 
"po' white trash ? " We may check our pauper immigration 
but how are we to check our moneyed men (and ladies) from 
going to Europe ? 

There is a natural rivalry that exists between ladies of 
different societies ; this is the life of each respective society. 
There is a natural rivalry that exists between our men of 
controlling influence ; this is the life of our statesmen. 

There is a natural rivalry that exists between different 
enlightened Christian countries. Each respective, enlight- 
ened Christian country endeavors to excel other countries. 

Each European county endeavors to excel others in plac- 



46 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

ing the best of wares of merchandise, the necessities and lux- 
uries of life, upon the market at the lowest prices. 

The cheaper you can live in any one European country, 
the more valuable that country is (according to surrounding 
circumstances.) This rivalry, that exists between different 
European countries, is the life of Europe. Young America 
is yet almost too young to fully comprehend this natural 
rivalry that exists between different European countries. 
If we could manage to sell the necessities of life at as low a 
margin as Europe, with the aid of our cheaper meat and bread 
stuff, we could manufacture and place the necessities of life 
upon the market cheaper than Europe. Then our own moneyed 
men would not only remain and dine with us, but Europe's 
overplus of inhabitants would be lessened by her moneyed 
men and the cream of her societies immigrating to the New 
World, instead of her paupers, who are forced to "jump out 
of the frying pan into the fire," come to this country and 
"root hog or die," and her syndicates -and parties who are 
looking only for the best of the bargain. Rivalry, between 
different enlightened Christian countries is the life of the 
modern enlightened Christian world. Should we wish a rich 
flowing immigration to commence anew, we must place the 
necessities of life upon the market as low as Europe. 
Then our immigration will have some of the George Wash- 
ington's father's style of people immigrating to the New 
World, parties who are not looking for so much the best of 
the bargain, but good old "slavery times ; " honest men who 
only wish an "even brake." "Respect yourself should you 
wish others to respect you; " but in order to hold your self- 
respect, you must first be self protecting. Should your neigh- 
bor prove ever so intelligent and be ever so beneficial to you 
and yours, after you discover that he is incapable of protect- 
ing himself in a general way, you loose more or less respect for 
him. We were blessed with a rich flowing immigration 
while our rich natural resources overbalanced our disadvan- 
tages, but the moment our several disadvantages overbalanced 
our rich resources, our rich immigration quit us. Our 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 47 

several disadvantages overbalanced our rich natural resources 
before our rich natural resources were one-half developed. 

After our disadvantages overbalanced our rich natural 
resources, we then are forced to be self protecting in order 
to be self sustaining. One need not expect any credit for 
doing anything stupid. "A city set upon a hill cannot be 
hid." We have failed to protect ourselves against ourselves, 
so today we have principally paupers or syndicates immigrat- 
ing to the New World. 40,000 Americans are living today 
in France while France has 86,000,000 inhabitants, and the 
Republic lacks 70,000 square miles of being as large as the 
State of Texas. So over 40,000 Americans have either 
bought a ticket and immigrated to France, else have bought 
a rope and hung themselves, Some of our moneyed men 
(and ladies) are leaving us ; we are changing golden nuggets 
for turnips, moneyed gentlemen and ladies for syndicates and 
paupers. 

A charitable company have advanced transportation 
for the darkies to Mexico. Our rich "white folks ' can leave 
us by procuring a ticket to France, but our "po' white trash" 
can only get out of this country through the aid of a rope. 

It is probably just as essential that a nation should pro- 
tect itself from itself as to protect its country against a 
foreign enemy. U A small leak will sink a great ship." Never 
brag too much on yourself but allow your neighbor to praise 
your good deeds. Don't brag too much on your own country 
(it is vulgar) but let other countries praise your country. 
U A tree is known by the fruit it bears." We sincerely hope 
that Uncle Sam will do one of three propositions we make : 
Kill the private costmark, send us a ticket to France, or else 
send a quarter in stamps (or in silver) that we may buy a rope. 
History teaches us that during the time the Saxon kings 
were reigning in England, a very extraordinary race of men 
were gradually rising to importance and power on the Ger- 
man'Ocean and on the adjacent seas. They came, of course, 
originaLy from the land, but they lived almost wholly upon 
the sea, only making occasional visits to the shores of various 



48 

countries within their reach for purposes of conquest and 
plunder. They were in fact little better than an organized 
nation of pirates. As they came originally from Denmark 
and Norway and other countries on the shores of the Baltic 
Sea and German Ocean, they are in English History com- 
monly called Danes. 

The work of conquering and plundering a country was 
in those ages of the world (850 A. D.), considered a very 
honorable business, provided the deed was done by a suffici- 
ently large number of people and on great enough scale. So 
the Danes, though really pirates and robbers, were considered 
honorable men, and many young persons from high (supposed- 
to-be Christian) families on the continent used to come and 
enter their service from time to time in order to see the world 
and learn the art of seamanship and war. 

In 850 the enlightened Christian world imagined that 
piracy was an honorable business, provided the deed was done 
by a sufficiently large enough number of people and on great 
enough scale. Today, in 1896, we enlightened Christians 
imagine that selling the necess ties of life under a private 
costmark to our own people in our own country is all "O. K.," 
provided the deed is done by a sufficiently large number of 
people and on great and grand enough scale. The business 
is surely carried on by twice the number of people needed 
and on as grand scale as a poor white man can stand up to. 

The pirate ship and the private costmark may be twin 
sisters. They both may have been introduced during the 
dark ages. After the Christian world emerged out from the 
dark waves of the dark ages, the Christian world condemned 
piracy, although they may have become partly used and ac- 
customed to the same. The enlightened Christian world 
finally criticised itself out of its piratical error, after so long 
a time, after the Danes had conquered the Saxons, and 
after the rich and otherwise intelligent parties of controlling 
influence had suffered the extremes from piratical excursions. 
The private costmark may prove to be more dangerous than 
the pirate ship, because, the private costmark emits no smoke 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 49 

or flame and its weight is only felt by the poor and other- 
wise ignorant classes who look to the rich and otherwise in- 
telligent classes of controlling influence for protection. 
While piracy was the fashion and folly of the day, it was the 
rich and otherwise intelligent classes who suffered the ex- 
tremes through piratical excursions. But while utilizing a 
private costmark has been, and is yet the fashion and folly 
of the day, it is only our poor who suffer the extremes. The 
rich may complain when they imagine they are overcharged 
for the necessities of life, but they will not suffer the ex- 
tremes till after they fall over on the poor side of the branch. 
As long as you have a dollar you will not suffer the extremes 
of poverty, but your influence and energy in this direction 
will naturally disappear with your last dollar. Demoraliza- 
tion follows after. Piracy might have been popular among 
the enlightened Christian world in 850, but at the same time 
the whole enlightened Christian world were not engaged in 
piracy. The business itself was not spread throughout all 
the world. After the Saxons had suffered t^e extremes and 
had lost their country through piratical excursions, the peo- 
ple were able to make a comparison between the Saxon's 
country, that had been lost through piratical excursions, and 
other countries that had not suffered from piratical ships. 
There was such a comparison between the conquered Saxons 
and other countries or nations that had not been conquered 
or overrun by pirates, that the people in general could de- 
termine the bad effects of piracy. From the time that the 
private costmark was first introduced among the retail mer- 
chants in selling to their own people, up-to-date, or since, 
utilizing the private costmark has become universal through- 
out the enlightened Christian world, we have no way of 
making a comparison. Poe says : "We can only recognize 
good and ill by comparison." 

Had any one or more countries in Europe discontinued 
the private costmark and forced their merchants to have sold 

at a low margin, then the modern world could have been 

4* 



50 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 

able to have made a comparison. The private costmark has 
a tendency to impoverish both Europe and young America ; 
the more that young America's people become impoverished 
the less we are able to patronize Europe ; the less we patron- 
ize Europe the more dependent Europe becomes upon us for 
patronage. The more dependent that Europe becomes upon 
us for patronage, the closer she may stick to her private cost- 
mark. From the time that the private costmark was first in- 
troduced, from that time up-to-date, the enlightened world's 
mode of living has been deranged. It may make little dif- 
ference whether this natural curse first germinated through 
accident or through surrounding circumstances, or whether 
some evil genius instigated it and introduced it in order to 
impede the progress of the enlightened world, or not, in 
either case the effect has been and still is just the same. 
"Evil is wrought through want of thought the same as through 
want of heart." So long as the private costmark is utilized, 
so long will the modern world continue a cheat. So long as 
the private costmark is utilized, so long will we remain under 
a natural curse. 

There probably cannot be a supernatural curse since 
Christ is our "Mediator," while we may remain under a 
natural curse for ages without once being warned. In order 
to unearth and uproot a natural curse we are forced to ascer- 
tain temporal truths. Ever since the private costmark has 
been in use the modern world has been considered a cheat. 
An Irishman upon beholding a donkey for the first time ex- 
claimed : "Sure this is the daddy of all the rabbits." So the 
private costmark probably is the daddy of all cheats. While 
piracy was the fashion and folly of the day the Saxons had 
the worst of the bargain ; while the private costmark is the 
fashion of the day young America is getting the worst of the 
bargain. It is impossible for us to miss all we do not re- 
ceive, although we might have been, and still might be en- 
titled to the same. 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 51 



Chapter VI. — China. 

China sustains 400,000,000 inhabitants upon an old 
knoll where the natural resources were almost exhausted 
centuries ago. China punishes all cheats with death. She 
makes nor recognizes no distinction between cheats ; she, like 
Christ, condemns all cheats, while she might make a distinction 
between the punishment of cheats. Today, China's merchants 
sell as low as two mills on the dollar at retail. By China 
selling so cheap, at so low a margin, to her own people, she 
is thereby able to manufacture and raise the necessities of 
life at a proportionate cost. The cheaper a nation sells the 
necessities of life to her own people the cheaper she can man- 
ufacture and raise the necessities of life. Millions of China's 
poor may suffer from want, (her natural resources near con- 
sumed and her country over-populated) but her poor might 
suffer the more if China sold, raised and manufactured the 
necessities of life at a higher cost. We cannot determine 
how China could make an improvement on her mode of deal- 
ing unless she manufactured and circulated more currency 
according to her population. It seems that China has at- 
tempted to increase the value of her currency by decreasing 
the value of her merchandise, her necessities of life. Our 
chain of circumstantial evidence shows us that China was 
always too ignorant ; was not intelligent enough to make and 
recognize a distinction between cheats, but condemned all 
cheats. She probably forced her mercantile fraternity to sell 
at a given margin, then forced all other enterprises down in 
conformity with the merchant. After the merchant sold as 
low as two mills on the dollar, her monopolies and money 
lenders could afford to place their rates at a low margin, as 
■all would naturally realize a benefit from the merchants' low 
margins as it had a tendency to cause the necessities of life 
to be put on the market at a low price. We have been in- 
formed that China's merchants sell at retail as low as two 
mills on the dollar. So our chain of circumstantial evidence 
shows us that her money lenders loan at a proportionate rate ; 



52 

they probably loan at about two mills on the dollar per annum. 
Had ten cents (one dime) been put out at ten per cent, inter- 
est, with compound interest added on at the birth of Christ, 
today there would not be enough gold to redeem it. This 
shows us how dangerous the world's at large growing mon- 
opolies may eventually terminate. If the world's at large 
money lenders were loaning with the compound interest at- 
tached, it might not be so dangerous, because then we might 
know the danger, but without the compound interest we can 
only guess the danger. In ancient times, warring was the 
fashion and folly of the day. In the early stages of modern 
times the people continued to war but commenced to specu- 
late. While the modern world was speculating and warring 
at the same time, the world's at large growing „ monopolies, 
combinations, would ofttimes be broken up through the effects 
and reverses of war. At a certain date the modern world 
managed to check continued wars to a great extent by estab- 
lishing ministers of war. Now we have nothing to check 
the world's at large growing monopolies. We have this new 
enemy to face. 

It may be just as essential for a nation to protect itself 
against itself as to protect its country against a foreign enemy. 
A nation now-a-days must be able to protect itself against its 
own monopolies in order to be enabled to protect itself against 
foreign monopolies. China has protected herself against her 
own monopolies, although she has run her country 6,000 years. 
China has protected herself against herself by condemning all 
cheats the same as Christ. China is a heathen nation, and has,, 
probably, ascertained through hard experience, the vital necess- 
ity of condemning all cheats. Christ commanded, "Thou 
shalt not steal," in order to save us the hard experience that 
China may have labored under. 

We may admit that "experience is our best teacher" be- 
cause we are too careless to be taught otherwise. Merchan- 
dise is something that all are forced to patronize at all times. 
The limit of profits that the retailer realizes is like the main 



53 

spring of a watch ; most everything, in particular, is governed 
by this "movement." 

Had China not restricted her mercantile fraternity, she 
could not well have restricted any other enterprise or any mo- 
nopoly. Her money lenders and monopolies might have bank- 
rupted her in the space of 6,000 years. But after she re- 
stricted her retail merchants she then could restrict her whole- 
sale merchants in conformity. After the necessities of life 
were sold at a low margin then they could be manufactured 
and raised at a low cost. After the necessities, as well as 
the luxuries, of life were put on the market at a low cost, all 
enterprises, monopolies and money lenders could afford to 
fall in proportion. Never allow your neighbor to defraud 
you out of your "home, sweet home and farm," then expect 
him to lend you a peck of potatoes. The only time to lock 
your stable door is before the horse is stolen. Rome existed 
thirteen centuries, "howled" then "trembled, tottered and 
fell." China has not only existed, but has "lived" 6,000 years. 
She, like Christ, condemns all cheats and still she stands. By 
China condemning all cheats she has been able to run her 
country 6,000 years without her monopolies obtaining too 
much of her circulating currency, she is not forced to borrow 
from her own or foreign monopolies. She is not forced to 
monopolize in foreign countries in order to feed her own or 
foreign monopolies. She is able to live at home, board at the 
same place and have her washing done up stairs. Selling at 
retail at two mills on the dollar is, probably too low, too in- 
convenient. 

But China is a heathen nation. She may have gone too 
far to extremes, but being a heathen nation, she has, probably, 
no idea of the end of time and has set her pegs so that she 
could be able to run her country forever without any danger 
of her monopolies obtaining too much foothold. But China, 
though a heathen, has advanced one good idea : She makes 
nor recognizes no distinction between cheats. 

She is a heathen nation; worships idols; we proba- 
bly can give her credit for advancing one good idea. She, 



54 

like some other nations, after they have advanced one good 
idea, they have done their do. We might borrow this one 
idea from China and leave out her other ideas. Men have 
been known to learn a good trait from a dog in the way of 
faithfulness. It seems that after China realized a benefit 
from decreasing the value of the necessities of life, she then 
went to extremes, went below the mark. 

China belongs to the old ancient race, but being a 
heathen, we cannot afford to take many patterns from her. 
She probably restricted her merchants before the private cost 
mark was introduced. Today she may or may not utilize a 
private costmark. Our chain of circumstantial evidence 
shows us that China could not have lived and stuck 
together as a nation for the period of 6,000 years had she 
made and recognized a distinction between cheats; had she 
not condemned all cheats the same as Christ condemns them. 
Probably other old Asiatic nations today would be on their 
respective homesteads and living at home instead of roving 
about, had they, like China, learned through hard experience 
how to have condemned all cheats. " We only recognize 
good from ill by comparison." We never think of making 
a comparison between our mode of merchandise and China's 
because China is a heathen nation and worships idols. The 
dark ages probably did not affect China's mode of selling her 
merchandise. A nation should attempt to decrease the value 
of their merchandise, the necessities and luxuries of life, in 
order to increase the value of their currency, but they 
should not go to extremes in either direction. China prob- 
ably has decreased the value of her merchandise and 
increased the value of her currency to too great an extent; 
while Europe probably has gone to extremes in the other 
direction — increased the value of her merchandise, her neces- 
sities of life, and decreased the value of her currency. Our 
chain of circumstantial evidence shows us that Israel, under 
the Mosaic law (Christ confirmed this law), sold the necessi- 
ties and luxuries of life to her own people at two (2) per cent. 
at retail. Everything else in particular was regulated and 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 55 

governed from this standpoint — this standard limit — A dol- 
lar saved is as valuable as a dollar made. 



Chapter VII. — " Thou Shalt Not Steal." 

" Thou shalt not steal." This includes all cheats. All 
cheats are thefts and all thefts are cheats. A cheat is sim- 
ply a theft shielded under a form. When the Lord gave 
Moses the commandments, among the same is found a Thou 
shalt not steal." While Christ was upon earth he confirmed 
and reiterated this same commandment in person. Twice 
the Lord has commanded k ' Thou shalt not steal." After we 
are convinced that all cheats are thefts we then are supposed 
to determine what is stealing or cheating. Prior to this 
commandment in both the Old and New Testaments we 
read " Thou shalt not kill." In order to obey the com- 
mandment "Thou shalt not kill," we are forced to obey the 
commandment " Thou shalt not steal." Most any kind of 
a cheat has a tendency to impoverish, and impoverishment 
has a tendency to hasten death — cut off life. It is not only 
a sin to steal because Christ has commanded k ' Thou shalt 
not steal," but because Christ has commanded " Thou shalt 
not kill." The commandment " Thou shalt not steal " pro- 
tects the commandment " Thou shalt not kill." Had we 
only been forbidden to kill and not been forbidden to steal, the 
commandment " Thou shalt not kill," would have been left 
unguarded to a great extent. Probably more people in 
modern times die from impoverishment through being de- 
frauded than die from the sword. The sword only hastens 



56 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

death. Those that have died from the sword would have 
eventually died anyhow. Those that die from impoverish- 
ment simply have a certain (or uncertain) number of days 
cut off — they would naturally die anyhow. If you kill 3^0 ur 
fellow man with the sword or shotgun, you simply hasten 
death. If you kill your fellow man by having his life cut 
off through impoverishment by defrauding him, you simply 
hasten rleath. Jn either case your fellow man would natur- 
ally eventually die. "We only live to die," about the same 
as a chicken. In order to determine when we are cheating, 
we might attempt to ascertain when and where we are im- 
poverishing. 

By referring to the l9th and 20th chapters of Exodus, 
it seems that the Lord first wished to speak to all Israel 
through a cloud, in order to fully impress the people, so the 
people could understand the full meaning of the command- 
ments. But for fear that some of the people might go 
beyond the " bounds," the people stood afar off, while the 
Lord spoke to Moses through a cloud. 

"And all the people saw the thunderings and the light- 
nings and the noise of the trumpets, and the mountain smok- 
ing, and when the people saw it they removed and stood afar 
off. And they said unto Moses, speak thou with us and we 
will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And 
Moses said unto the people, fear not, for God is come to 
prove you, and that his fear may be before j^our faces, that 
ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew 
near unto the thick darkness where God was." — Ex. 20 chap., 
18, 19, 20 and 21 verses. 

It seems that the Lord wished to awe and impress the 
people so they could fully understand the commandments. 
After the Lord gave Moses the commandments, Moses taught 
all Israel the full meaning of the commandments, through 
the power of inspiration that Moses was endowed with. 
Among the commandments were found "Thou shalt not 
steal " All Israel were taught the full sense and meaning 
of this commandment through inspiration. Christ, while 



upon earth, reiterated this self same commandment in per- 
son, so that the Gentile might understand the true meaning, 
as well as all Israel. We Gentiles cannot be taught the full 
sense and meaning of the commandment "Thoushalt not 
steal " through inspiration, but can only be taught through 
the aid of our intellect or wisdom. 

We all admit that the now modern world is a cheat. 
This is probably because we Gentiles who help to constitute 
the modern world do not fnlly understand the command- 
ment " Thou shalt not steal." 

The world is 6,000 years old, but today it seems that 
only two classes of people fully understand the meaning of 
the commandment " Thou shalt not steal," and those are the 
heathen Chinese and the Jews. China probably was thou- 
sands of years in ascertaining the vital necessity of con- 
demning all cheats. She was probably thousands of years 
in learning the meaning of the word " steal," through years 
of hard experience, while the Jews were taught the full 
meaning through inspiration in a moment of time. Christ, 
while upon earth, commanded " Thou shalt not steal " in 
order to save us Gentiles the hard experience that China 
may have labored under. China has ascertained the mean- 
ing of the word " steal" through thousands of years of hard 
experience. The Jews were taught the full sense and mean- 
ing of the commandment u Thou shalt not steal," through 
inspiration. Christ, while upon earth, commanded " Thou 
shalt not steal." We enlightened Gentile Christians must 
remember that nearly 1,900 years have intervened since 
Christ gave this commandment in person. The dark clouds 
of the dark ages probably had little or no effect upon the 
Jews, traditionally or commercially (in dealing among them- 
selves). The dark clouds of the dark ages probably had 
little or no effect upon the heathen Chinese. 

The Jews were probably too wise, while the heathen 
Chinese were too ignorant and too far isolated off to be 
effected from the dark cloud of the dark ages. China was 



58 

too old to bend. But with us enlightened Gentile Christ- 
ians of today it is somewhat different. 

Since Christ gave this commandment the dark cloud of 
the dark ages has rolled over us, and given " use and cus- 
tom " a chance to step in between us and this (as well as 
other) commandments. "Custom," says Lord Bacon, " is 
man's chief magistrate. Custom is ofttimes stronger than 
reason." We Gentile Christians of today never attempt to 
define the meaning of the commandment " Thou shalt not 
steal," but give way entirely to use and custom. We give 
way probably to the usages and customs that germinated 
and originated during the period of the dark ages. Today 
we make and recognize most any kind of cheat that is 
shielded under a form. In other words we make and recog- 
nize a distinction between cheats. Most any kind of a cheat 
can be made popular after it is shielded under a form. To 
steal outright is breaking the law of God, but to cheat (steal) 
and shield it under a form, is it not attempting to rectify the 
laws of God ? It is a sin to break the law of God, but is it 
not a greater sin to attempt to rectify God's law ? There 
probably is only one class of people today who make and 
recognize a distinction betweencheats and they are the.enlight- 
ened Gentile Christians. The heathen Chinese are too ignor- 
ant, are not intelligent enough, to make and recognize a dis- 
tinction between cheats, but condemn all cheats. The savage 
cannibal makes no distinction between cheats, but indorses 
all cheats. He will steal your gold (or silver), steal your 
horse, saddle and bridle, will cheat you in any way he knows 
how, but at the same time he is not intelligent enough to 
shield his theft under a form. If he is caught in the act, he 
may own it up to your face, as he has no way of shielding 
his theft; he is not intelligent enough to shield his theft or 
cheat under any kind of a form. He will slay and eat you, 
but probably would own it up to your face should you ask 
him in a polite manner. There is one difference between us 
Gentile Christians and the cannibals. We do not eat those 
that we defraud and murder. The reason why that u truth is 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 59> 

stranger than fiction," is probably because we have ignored 
(temporal) truths of vital importance to too great an extent* 
and depend upon most any kind of "use and custom" that has 
germinated since the Christian era. Again (excuse our 
digression), the heathens either condemn or endorse all 
cheats, they are not intelligent enough to make or recognize 
a distinction between cheats. The heathen Chinese condemn 
all cheats, while the savage cannibals indorse all cheats. 

The children of Israel (the Jews) condemn all cheats 
(in dealing among themselves), the same as Christ — the 
same ~as China ; while they may not punish all cheats (in 
dealing among themselves) the same as China. The Jews 
are too wise to make or recognize a distinction between 
cheats in dealing among themselves. Should the Jews 
make and recognize a distinction between cheats in dealing 
among themselves, they might break the commandment. 
" Thou shalt not kill " by impoverishing each other, besides 
should they make and recognize a distinction between cheats 
in dealing among themselves, we Gentiles might be able to 
cheat wise Israel. We enlightened Gentile Christians are 
intelligent enough to make and recognize a distinction 
between cheats, but are not wise enough to protect ourselves 
against wise Israel. We are not wise enough to protect our- 
selves against ourselves. If we Gentiles recognized no dis- 
tinction between cheats, but condemned all cheats, we then 
could not cheat each other without breaking our laws. If 
we Gentiles recognized no distinction between cheats, the 
Jews could not cheat us without breaking our laws. All 
cheats are thefts, simply shielded under different forms. The 
Jews only take advantage of some of our shielded cheats,, 
but are too wise to cheat (steal) where the theft is not 
shielded under a form. The Jew is almost always ready to 
cheat us, but at the same time he will not steal. We all 
admit that the Jew is a cheat, in a general way, probably, 
because the Jew is generally non-productive. But the Jews 
could not live off of us and still be popular among us and cheat 
us unless we recognized a distinction between cheats. If 



60 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

the Jew is really a cheat he cannot live off of a nation only 
where a distinction between cheats exist. Living off of a 
nation and living among a nation are two different questions. 
"A wise man will bless the rod that made a man of him." 

When we see a reliable school teacher still using the 
rod, we may be confident that one or more of the " school " 
are still disobedient. When we see the Jews still living off oi 
a nation we may be confident that the nation of Gentiles are 
still disobedient and still recognize a distinction between 
cheats. Don't spare the rod and spoil the school. You can 
almost always determine when your watch is correct by 
referring to the ''town clock." What did the Lord mean 
when He commanded "Thou shalt not steal?" Did He 
mean that we should speculate upon the necessities of life to 
an unlimited extent ? As the limit of profits that the retailer 
realizes is the same as the mainspring of a watch, most every- 
thing else is governed from this " movement." We are 
forced to set a limit. Set a gauge for the retailer to go by. 
What limit should the retail merchant realize in compliance 
to the commandment "Thou shalt not steal?" China sells 
as low as two mills on the dollar at retail, but this probably 
is too low, too inconvenient. Europe's retail merchants may 
sell at seven cents on the dollar, but this probably is too 
high. China is probably on the extreme in one direction 
and Europe on the extreme in the other. Young America 
is not " in it." Instead of young America trying to bring 
the limit of profits down, she has been bringing them up, so 
when she does "fall," the same as Rome, she will have the 
greater space to fall through, " hit the grit" the harder, and 
come down in a heap. Should you attempt to go from Cali- 
fornia to New York, and should you start and travel in the 
exact opposite direction from towards New York, you would 
finally bring up at New York, but come up at the opposite 
side from which you started. By young America traveling 
so far and fast in the exact opposite direction from the right 
way she should have gone, she has simply made the circum- 
ference. " Experience is our best teacher." 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 61 

By tracing the Jews from the time of Moses up to date 
our chain of circumstantial evidence shows us that they sell 
the necessities of life at retail to each other at two per cent, 
on the dollar. While the Israelites were dwelling in Canaan 
and following the comandment, "Thou shalt not steal," they, 
probably, sold the necessities of life to each other at retail at 
two per cent, on the dollar. They, probably, brought or held 
all other enterprises, monopolies and money lenders down in 
conformity with the retail merchants' limit on profits. Today 
in Young America, our American Jews, probably, sell as low 
as two per cent, when surrounding circumstances will permit 
of it. They may ofttimes be forced to charge a higher limit 
where they are overcrowded with too much opposition. They 
probably, loan money at about one (1) per cent, per annum 
to one another. 

When the Lord gave Moses the commandment, "Thou 
shalt not steal," all Israel were to realize a temporal blessing 
through following this commandment. The Jews have obeyed 
this commandment (among themselves) from that day to 
this and they still realize temporal benefits from following the 
same. Christ commanded, "Thou shalt not steal," while 
upon earth, so that we enlightened Gentile Christians might 
realize a temporal blessing from following this commandment. 
Could the whole modern world be converted to Christianity, 
the whole world could realize a temporal benefit through fol- 
lowing this commandment. The Bible is to teach us how to 
prosper in a temporal way the same as how to serve the Lord 
in a devotional or spiritual way. We will prosper both in 
a spiritual and in a temporal way from following the spiritual 
and temporal teachings of our Bible. Truth is wisdom, wis- 
dom is for our spiritual and temporal good. Spiritual truths 
are for our spiritual good and welfare, while temporal truths 
are for our temporal good and welfare. 

Cheating cannot thrive, not because it is a sin, (since 
Christ is our "Mediator" "it will rain upon the unjust the 
same as the just"), but because it has a tendency to impov- 
erish. The Jews were not only taught "Thou shalt not steal" 



'62 

through inspiration, but were taught "Thou shalt not kill" 
through inspiration. Should a Jew defraud another enough 
to impoverish, probably, the whole Jewish nation would look 
upon said defrauder not only as a thief, but as a murderer. 
The reason why that "there is no worse a sin than trying to 
get rich in a hurry," is because defrauding impoverishes and 
impoverishment cuts off life, hastens death. 

Life hangs by a slender strand — thread at best. The 
last straw that is laid on and breaks the camel's back is not 
any the more guilty than its predecessors. "Show me a thief 
I will show you a murderer." "We take off our hats to big 
thiefs" and murderers, "but jail" and hang "little ones." It 
may not be the little amount of sin that we commit that we 
are aware of, but the great amount of sin that we commit 
that we are ignorant of. 

Ignorant, but not innocent. "Ignorance is sin." "Many 
will be called but few will be chosen," because "straight is the 
gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few 
there be that find it." It seems that the modern world has 
lost her "measuring rod." Her weights and measures may 
be correct. She, probably, reserved these through the dark 
ages, but the limit of profits — this measure, or rather per 
cent. — that the retail merchant is to realize, may have gotten 
swept off the deck when the dark waves of the dark ages 
swept over our gallant ship. 

"And when He was gone forth into the way, there came 
one running and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, Good 
Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ? " 
"And Jesus said unto him, why calleth thou me good? there 
is none good but one, that is God." "Thou knoweth the 
commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not 
steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy father 
and mother." "And he answered and said unto him, Master, 
all of these I have observed from my youth. Then Jesus 
beholding him loved him, and said unto him, one thing thou 
lackest ; go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to 
the poor, and thou shalt have treasures in Heaven ; and come, 






63 

take up the cross and follow me." "And he was sad at that 
saying and went away grieved, for he had great possessions." 
X This was a Gentile that asked Christ what he should da 
to inherit eternal life. Christ said, "defraud not." This 
Gentile had large possessions ; he probably acquired this 
wealth through realizing too great a profit. After this Gen- 
tile had said unto Christ, "all of these I have observed from 
my youth," Christ commanded, "go thy way, sell whatsoever 
thou hast and give to the poor." When Christ commanded 
this Gentile to sell his possessions and give the proceeds to 
the poor, it shows that this Gentile might have defrauded 
the people — the poor — by realizing too much profit, while at 
the same time this Gentile was ignorant of the fact. When 
the Lord gave Moses the commandments, the Lord did not 
explain to Moses what was stealing, but gave Moses the com- 
mandment, "thou shalt not steal." But Moses knew the 
meaning by inspiration. Christ, while upon earth, was more 
explicit to this Gentile and commanded, "defraud not." And 
after the Gentile had said, "all of these I have observed from 
my youth," Christ commanded him to sell and give to the 
poor. Christ here shows us that this Gentile had not ob- 
served all of the commandments, he had defrauded but was 
ignorant ; ignorant, but not innocent. ^ 

It seems that we enlightened Gentile Christians of to- 
day, ignore the temporal teachings and meanings of our 
Bible. We best Christians seem to devote all our spare 
time to the spiritual teachings and meanings of our Bible, 
but ignore the temporal teachings and meanings to a great 
extent. How are we to determine when and where we are 
cheating, (stealing) while we ignore temporal truths? 
"Thou shalt not steal." We are supposed to determine what 
is cheating (stealing.) This can only be accomplished by 
ascertaining temporal truths. Should we Gentile Christians 
master, ascertain, analyze and utilize temporal truths the 
same as the Jews, then at the same time analyze spiritual 
truths, as well as we do or attempt to do, then we might be 
that nearer perfection ; we then might be able to "put on the 



X 



r*r ^^3TH^ /^. 



64 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PHICE SYSTEM. " 

whole armor." Carry the sword of spiritual truths in one 
hand and the sword of temporal truths in the other. 

"Thou shalt not steal" is for temporal use. We may or 
may not be perfect in regard to spiritual truths, while the 
modern Christian world's greatest fault probably lies in 
ignoring temporal truths of the most vital importance to the 
almost greatest unreasonable extent. Temporal truths some- 
what like spiritual we must ascertain, analyze and utilize 
the same before we can realize their true worth and value. 
The savage cannibals indorse all cheats ; they make no dis- 
tinction between cheats, they have an "equal break" in deal- 
ing amoug themselves. But we enlightened Gentile Chris- 
tians recognize a distinction between cheats, allow any party 
or parties to cheat, provided, the theft is shielded under the 
slightest form. 

But this gives our poor the worst of the bargain, who 
may not have the easily comatable necessary pocket change 
to procure a shield to cover a theft. It may require more or 
less knowledge, wit and hard cash to procure a shield. But 
we are more cruel to our poor than the savage. We cheat 
our poor in ways, too numerous to mention, that are shielded 
under different forms, while our poor are forced to submit, 
have not the knowledge, wit and means to retaliate. Know- 
ledge is power, wealth is power ; knowledge and wealth are 
powerful. We should attempt to protect our people — our 
poor — from this powerful "swamp angel." "Self preservation 
is the first law of nature." In order to protect ourselves, 
we are first forced to protect our merchants against too much 
opposition. In order to do this, our merchants need to 
utilize a public costmark as though naught had happened. 
We must be in sympathy with our poor, sympathize with 
our people — our poor — before we can have pity upon them 
and be able to obtain a corresponding benefit from the Lord. 

After the community cheats the mercantile fraternity 
out of its rightful share of patronage, then the mercantile 
fraternity is forced to cheat the community and shield the 
same under the form of speculating. After the whole com- 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 65 

munity is cheated under the form of speculations, then the 
community originates different cheats of different characters 
shielded under different forms. After different cheats shielded 
under different forms commence to be felt by the community 
and impoverish them, the community becomes more or less 
demoralized under the weight of this impoverishment. Those 
that cannot, or are not shrewd enough to obtain a shield to 
shield a cheat, steal outright where the theft is not shielded 
under a form. By a nation's mode of selling, her merchan- 
dise being deranged, that naturally deranges most every thing 
else. A nation's mode of selling her merchandise — her 
necessities of life — is her living. Where hermode of living is 
deranged, most everything else is deranged. 



Chapter VIII. — Several Things. 

The average deaths from starvation in the city of Lon- 
don is two human beings per week. But a person need not 
drop dead upon the highways and streets for the need of 
proper food, bat may have their liver deranged from eating 
unwholesome food and exist ninety or more years afterward,, 
still have from sixty seconds to ninety years of their precious 
life cut off. 

Feed a hog upon trash and green peaches, he may take 
the cholera and die in a few weeks time, but the human is 
longer lived. The greater the distance you may be allowed 
to travel a lonely road, the greater the chance for you to 
meet up with highwaymen, pitfalls, wolves, bears, panthers 

5* 



66 

and lions. The longer lived the human race, the greater the 
danger of life being cut off. Thousands of Europe's and 
Young America's poor die annually of innutrition — a slow, 
cruelly slow starvation — prolonged from month to month or 
from year to year according to their relative strength of con- 
stitution. A few days fasting makes one ravenous, but a 
long partial starvation so exhausts the victim that he looses 
all inclination for food, as well as power to assimilate it. The 
doctors may imagine the cause of a death of slow starvation 
consumption, but Mrs. Emma D. E. N. Southworth claims 
that it is "wott-consumption." The world's ablest physicians 
devote all their spare time in attempting to ascertain the cure 
of a disease, and have little or no time to devote in attempting 
to ascertain the true cause of the same. Thousands of the en- 
lightened Gentile Christian world's poor catch their death of 
cold in winter, being poorly clad and having to undergo too 
many hardships and exposures. They catch their death of cold 
ofttimes while asleep or attempting to sleep. The worst un- 
protected rooms are generally occupied by the modern world's 
poorest people who are not in possession of blankets or suffici- 
ent bed covering, while our wealthiest people occupy lathed 
and plastered rooms with the best of blankets and quilts. The 
Jews don't defraud their people, so most all their people fare 
"tolerably'' well. If we treated our people — our poor — as 
well as the Jews treat their people, then should our poor 
suffer from want, it might be from their own fault and not 
ours. We, as a nation or nations, then could not be held 
responsible. Had modern Europe never allowed the private 
costmark to have been introduced — forced her merchants to 
have sold .strictly at two per cent, at retail — (the wholesalers 
restricted in proportion) today Europe would have less than 
half the number of merchants, both wholesalers and retailers. 
This would give each merchant double the patronage. The 
necessities of life could be procured so cheap that none would 
need to go into the mercantile business in order to make an 
honest living. The great number of retailers don't guarantee 
the wholesale merchants the more patronage, but the low 



67 

margins that the retailers sell at. By the wholesalers having 
double the patronage by only having one half or less the 
opposition, they could sell at one half the margin by the re- 
tailers having doubled the patronage by having one half the 
opposition, they too could sell at one half the margin. By 
both the wholesalers and the retailers selling at one half the 
margin, it would foot up quite an item. Europe today would 
be able to place the necessities of life upon the market at 
about one half the price she does now. 

The cheaper you can place the necessities and luxuries 
of life upon the market in any country, the more valuable 
that country according to surrounding circumstances. Of 
course, you don't need to go to extremes, go too low the 
same as China, neither should you go too high the same as 
Europe is today. When you imagine your watch is keeping 
imperfect time, refer to "the town-clock." If we Gentiles 
wish to obtain the correct standard limit on profits, we should 
refer to the Jews (in dealing among themselves.) Had 
Europe always sold at two per cent, at retail, her necessities 
and luxuries of life could have been procured at a propor- 
tionate rate. She could have restricted all other enterprises 
and monopolies in conformity with the retailers margin. 
Every man, woman and child are forced to patronize the 
merchant. All cheats that cheat and shield their differ- 
ent cheats under different forms; all theives that steal where 
their thefts are not shielded under a form, are forced to pat- 
ronize the merchant. A nation cannot expect to check any 
kind of a cheat that is shielded under a form, or check any 
kind of a theft that is not shielded under a form, success- 
fully, till after said nation rectify its mode of selling. After 
the private costmark is properly introduced, the merchants 
allowed to sell regardless of any lawful limit, then this non- 
productive mercantile business is powerless to protect itself 
against too much opposition. Competition and opposition 
cheat the merchants out of their rightful share of patronage 
which forces the mercantile fraternity to overcharge the 
community. This overcharge is called speculating. 



68 

The more the community defraud this non-productive, 
helpless enterprise out of its rightful share of patronage, the 
higher the profits ; the higher the profits, the wider the door 
is left open for the more opposition. Finally, and occasion- 
ally, the poor close some of the doors with their empty purses. 
The empty purse of the poor is about all that can restrict 
the "fatal hammer" and check the rapid growth of business 
houses. Each European country is cheating itself "to the 
death." The mercantile fraternity of each country selling 
the necessities of life under a private costmark without any 
lawful margin, the merchant is unable to protect himself 
against opposition. The communities cheat the merchants 
out of their rightful share of patronage, then the merchants, 
are forced to overcharge the communities. "Should you 
wish to dig up a big tree, begin at its roots." Should the 
modern world wish to change the cheating world into an 
honest one, the modern world should attempt to correct her 
mode of selling her merchandise — her necessities of life. 
She then might produce "a land flowing with milk and 
honey." 

England's factory hands work for starving wages. Had 
England (as well as the modern enlightened world) re- 
stricted her merchants with a law, forced her merchants to 
have sold at two per cent, at retail, then her factory hands 
could have obtained a certain amount of the per cent, that 
her merchants have been realizing. The profits could have 
been more equally divided. Besides, it would not have cost 
said factory hands so much to live. They could have ob- 
tained the necessities, as well as the luxuries of life, at one 
half the cost. "The laborer is worthy of his hire." We 
cannot divide equally among ourselves without the aid of a 
law. Our laws should restrict the merchants ; this restriction 
will protect the merchant against too much competition, then 
our laborers will obtain that which competition has been 
robbing the merchants of. 

Had modern Europe forced her merchants to have sold 
at two per cent, at retail, young America would have done 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 69 

likewise. Today, we would have about three-fourths less the 
number of both wholesale and retail merchants. By us having 
one-fourth the number of wholesalers, they could sell at 
three-fourths less the margin, and by us having one-fourth 
the number of retailers, they could sell at three-fourths less 
the margin. By our retailers having three-fourths less the 
opposition, they would have four times the amount of cus- 
tomers, and their customers would have the more easily com- 
atable necessary pocket change to patronize our fewer mer- 
chants with, the people's trade not being overcharged as 
heretofore. Our retailers could fare as well selling (under 
this system) at two per cent, as they can now selling at 
thirty. The necessities and luxuries would be placed upon 
the market at such low figures that none would need to go 
into the non-productive mercantile business in order to make 
a livelihood. When a man is forced to go into a non-pro- 
ductive enterprise where he is not necessarily required, he is 
a burden upon the community. 

When a Christian people claim that competition is the 
life of trade, they then and there ignore the commandment 
" Thou shalt not steal," and utilize competition in its stead. 
Christ gave us this commandment so that we would be able 
to protect ourselves against ourselves so that we could all 
prosper in a temporal way, unless we were too old or lazy to 
work. Should we enlightened Christians protect our people 
and our poor in procuring the necessities and luxuries of life 
the same as the Jews seem to protect each other? Should 
we sell at two per cent, at retail, loan to each other at one 
(1) per cent, per annum, then should one or more of our 
poor suffer for want, we, as a nation, would probably not be 
held accountable. The Jews have few or no drones among 
their own nation. They give each and every one of their 
people protection in procuring the necessities of life, as far as 
surrounding circumstances will permit. China condemns all 
cheats the same as Christ. She may labor under supersti- 
tious ideas ; she worships idols, besides she may labor under 
thousands of other superstitious ideas, but she may be nearer 



70 

correct in regard to condemning all cheats than we enlight- 
ened Christians are. "All men are born equal." Here we 
might add that all men remain nearer equal than a* careless 
observer might naturally suppose. China may have super- 
stitious ideas in regard to her mode of religion, while we 
may labor under superstitious ideas in regard to our mode 
of merchandise. Superstitious ideas, somewhat similar to 
the hairs of our head — we may not know how many we labor 
under till after they are counted. China's poor may die 
from impoverishment, but they may not be impoverished 
from being overcharged. If we Gentile Christians protected 
our people — our poor — the same as the Jews, then we might 
not be responsible for any inconveniences that our people — 
our poor — underwent. 

It is a wise man that is aware of all his faults, but only 
a fool that will own up to the half of them. This one item 
alone ties a hard knot around the throat of a free republic. 
Under a monarchial government the people, with all their 
faults, force their monarch to protect themselves rfgainst 
themselves to a certain extent, through fear of losing the 
crown (or head with the crown). Probably more than one 
monarch has lost both crown and head on account of his 
incapacity of protecting his people against his people. 

King Charles lost his head and crown on this account. 
Under a monarchial government the people place so much 
power in the hands of their monarch, then this monarch is 
responsible according to his power. Under a free form of 
government we cannot hold our President responsible — his 
responsibilities cannot exceed his power. 

Some of us might complain if we had a "golden" Presi- 
dent (or a silver one), but we all like a free form of govern- 
ment, so we all should attempt to help protect a free form of 
government. It is natural that the easiest form of govern- 
ment for the people would be the hardest form of govern- 
ment to protect the people under. We might say we have 
no natural restrictions that will enable ourselves to protect 
ourselves against ourselves. 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 71 

Most each European country is, or was once, under a 
monarchial government. It seems that the modern intelli- 
gent, enlightened world is not yet quite intelligent or wise 
enough to run any one country unless it was first put under 
a monarchial government in order to get in running shape. 

We (young America) have, started to run a free repub- 
lic, but simply starting don't signify Ave might say anything 
hardly. Starting out to make one billion of dollars don't 
actually make one dollar. We have '•started" to run a free 
form of government, the next question that arises, can we 
accomplish the feat? 

Should you find yourself "fair, fat and forty" with a 
wife and ten children, and should you u start" to make a 
livelihood by farming, should you allow one of your children's 
life to be cut off from undergoing too many hardships and 
exposure, and for the need of proper food and raiment through 
your carelessness of non-protection while there was plenty upon 
the farm, could you claim that you were making a success at 
farming? If you had been visited with famine and drought 
you might not be responsible, but if not, you might be respon- 
sible for your child's death. A free form of government is 
somewhat similar to a dozen orphan children living upon a 
farm, whose parents are dead. Where one or more of the 
children suffer death through non-protection, the others are ir- 
responsible. No one child had absolute power, so no one child 
could be held responsible. But if these children were "wise 
as the Jews;" if they were wise enough to lead and under- 
stand the commandment, "Thou shalt not steal," and could 
understand how to follow the "golden rule," and were capable 
of maidng and informing laws that would project themselves 
against themselves, they, probably, would all fare as well as 
though they were under their parents' charge who were over- 
confident of their capabilities. It is the act of making and 
inforcing the right kind of laws that protects any form of 
government and not the monarch himself. When a nation is 
able to make and inforce the right kind of laws, it may never 
need a monarch in order to force a monarch to protect the 



72 

people. A law-maker or law-giver should make and establish 
his laws to correspond with the laws or meaning of the laws 
found in the Bible, but should not make laws nor be forced to 
make laws to correspond with the threatening attitude of the 
people. Has a modern nation ever yet defined the command- 
ment, "Thou shalt not steal," and established a law or laws to 
correspond with this definition ? Most all modern nation's laws 
have been made and established through the fear of the people 
instead of through fear of the Lord. Modern Europe's laws 
allow a merchant to sell the necessities of life under a private 
costmark. This act alone, probably, deranges most all the 
laws that Europe has made or established. 

While young America was under the Crown, a law was 
(probably) passed that would allow a banker to realize and 
loan at eight per cent. This law corresponded with the 
merchants' selling under a private costmark, but not with 
the old Mosaic law (Christ confirmed this law of Moses) 
that allowed a money lender to loan at one or, probably, two 
per cent. Take our American Jews, they pay no attention 
to these forced laws (in dealing among themselves) that 
Europe or young America have made and established. The 
Jews (in dealing among themselves) pay little or no attention 
to the usages and customs that have germinated during or 
since the dark ages, but still follow the dictates of the laws 
that Christ confirmed in person. Christ commanded "de- 
fraud not," the Jews follow this commandment (in dealing 
among themselves.) We (young America) have recognized 
the private costmark, and have then naturally borrowed more 
or less laws from Europe to correspond with the private 
costmark. We easily follow in the tracks of use and custom, 
while the Jews still stick to the old Mosaic, as well as some 
of the laws that Christ confirmed of temporal use. The Jews 
probably have never utilized or recognized the private cost- 
mark, (in dealing among themselves) so they can easily 
follow some of the temporal laws that Christ confirmed. 
The Jews need no monarch to force them to obey the com- 
mandment, "Thou shalt not steal." They obey this coin- 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 73 

mandment among themselves through the heart, and not 
through the threats of an earthly monarch. They are 
forced to obey this commandment (among themselves) 
through God, through Christ, and not through the dictates 
of man. Should we (young America) wish to run a free 
form of government successfully, we should first throw off 
the yoke of "use and custom." Kill the private costmark, 
then, and not until then, we will be able to establish laws 
corresponding with the laws that Christ confirmed in per- 
son. Europe is more weighted down under the yoke of use 
and custom, while we are independent and could more easily 
throw off these superstitious delusions. When we threw off 
the English yoke, then and there, we had a golden oppor- 
tunity to throw off all uses and customs that were tainted 
the least with superstitious delusions. But instead of us 
attempting to throw off the yoke of use and custom, we 
borrow some of it's (Europe's) laws and utilize the same 
while we have no natural restrictions as Europe may have. 
Europe manufactures few or no imitations, yet thousands of 
her poor's lives may be cut off annually on account of im- 
poverishment caused from being overcharged for the neces- 
sities of life. We (young America) are not over-populated ; 
our rich, natural resources are not one half developed ; we 
have not been visited with wars, drought nor famine of late, 
yet 50,000, more or less, of our poor's lives are cut of an- 
nually on account of impoverishment through being over- 
charged for the necessities of life. 

Not one day passes over our heads but what one or more 
of our poor are, probably, cheated for a cheat (except Sun- 
day.) Not one day passes over our heads but what one or 
more of our poor are forced to give up life (Sunday included) 
through being defrauded. "There is no worse a sin than 
trying to get rich in a hurry." Europe may be murdering 
her thousands while we, (Young America), may be murder- 
ing our tens of thousands. "Evil is wrought through want 
of thought the same as through want of heart." 

As long as Christ is our "Mediator" "it will rain upon 



74 

the unjust the same as the just." It may make little differ- 
ence how many people we murder through want of thought 
or through want of heart, Christ our "Mediator" will protect 
us from the wrath of God during our natural lives but we 
may be required to give an account of every deed done in the 
body on the day of judgment. Why is it that no modern 
European country could ever run a free form of government 
successfully? Take the Jews today and note how well they 
protect themselves against themselves. They don't seem to 
require any monarch so as to force their monarch to protect 
themselves against themselves. 

The reason, probably, that modern enlightened Europe 
has been unable to run a free form of government success- 
fully is because she makes and recognizes a distinction be- 
tween cheats. "Thou shalt not steal." By following this 
commandment it will enable us to protect ourselves against 
ourselves. Should we, (Young America), wish to run a free 
form of government successfully, we should abide by this 
commandment. This commandment will enable us to pro- 
tect ourselves against ourselves much better than any earthly 
monarch. We should attempt to establish natural laws that 
would harmonize between the commandment "Thou shalt not 
steal" and nature. We should attempt to establish laws as 
though the dark ages had never existed. We should pay no 
attention to use and custom in establishing our laws. 

Young America is perfectly "carried away with her 
idea " of " selling " her people to death. We are speculating 
(cheating) ourselves to death. If we were manufacturing 
all the wares of merchandise that we utilized, if we manu- 
factured nothing except necessary genuine articles and sold 
the same as low as two per cent, at retail, it then might be 
a bad policy to "sell" our own people to death, to oversell 
them, sell them more than they actually required. We 
should give the goose that lays the golden egg a fair 
and impartial chance to prosper. In good " old slavery 
times" we manufactured few or no "imitations," we manu- 
factured nor imported (through old-fashioned sail ships) few 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 75- 

unnecessary wares of merchandise. In good " old slavery 
times " our markets were not stocked with imitations, nor 
too great amount of unnecessary wares. Then the whole 
44 Sunny, Sandy South" flourished and prospered. Our 
Southern farmers were not forced to read over two columns 
of advertisements for snide jewelry before they found the 
fluctuating prices of cotton in New York and of darkies in 
New Orleans. In those da}^s, when our Southern people 
made a dollar there were fewer unnecessary wares to tempt 
them ; they learned to put a dollar away now and then for a 
rainy day, till it accumulated. Once in a great while the 
Southern farmer would buy himself a thousand dollar candle- 
stick to eat his supper by (bought a thousand dollar slave 
and stuck a pine torch in the slave's hand). When the far- 
mer bought a slave he got value received for money 
expended. We may now all admit that it was a sin to 
shackle and sell slaves ; this may be all too true, but we are 
attempting now to prove that it is detrimental to the welfare 
of any nation to sell their own people too great amount of 
unnecessary or necessary wares of merchandise. The greater 
per cent, of us will naturally spend most every dollar we 
make (or steal either) for unnecessary wares of merchandise. 
How are we to check this fashion and folly of the Gentile 
enlightened world? When you imagine your watch is 
incorrect, refer to the " town clock." The Jew may or may 
not purchase too great amount of unnecessary or necessary 
wares of merchandise, but if he procures too great amount 
of either he does not defraud one of his own people in order 
to obtain the means to procure said wares with. Should we 
quit defrauding each other, make all of our honest dollars in 
an honest way, we probably would not have quite so much 
gold (and silver) to squander on either the necessary or 
unnecessary wares of merchandise. 

A certain per cent, of us make our honest dollars in a 
dishonest way. We take our honest dollars (that were made 
in a dishonest way) and set a bad example by buying up 
most everything and anything that comes within our reach. 



76 

(snide jewelry included) as long as our dollars hold out. A 
dollar made too easy goes too easy. 

Another per cent. e£-«g who may make their fewer dol- 
lars by the sweat of their brow learn to follow suit "buy- 
buy " till their last hard earned nickel is gone. The next 
time you hear from one of these parties he will be in jail 
for' stealing something that he could not buy. Besides this 
per cent, of us that set the example by buying, we advertise 
our people to death. We spend about three hundred millions 
annually advertising, and about four hundred millions keeping 
up our prisons. We advertise so "awfully" that it has a ten- 
dency to set some of our folks "wild," who spend every 
cent they can make, then break into prison by attempting to 
steal money that they could not earn, or stealing wares that 
they could not buy. Our number of convicts have gained 
•888 to the million since we commenced advertising snide 
jewelry and other such foolishness, not counting in the number 
of wow-convicts that should be in prison. We, as a young 
nation of people, must buy experience. The first payments 
are generally heavy. Where no counterfeited wares of mer- 
chandise are manufactured, none are sold ; where no unnec- 
essary wares are imported none are utilized. It is rather a 
sorry kind of a man that a woman or a dog won't follow ; it 
is rather a sorry kind of a nation that cannot manufacture 
as great amount of unnecessary wares of merchandise as their 
people are able to purchase. We are forced to import a great 
amount of necessary wares of merchandise ; we are forced to 
patronize Europe to a great extent in procuring necessary 
wares, while we are not necessarily compelled to import un- 
necessary wares. A young nation, somewhat like a young 
man, should not act the miser, neither the spendthrift. Coal 
Oil Johnnie acted the spendthrift, he patronized too freely 
for his own good. 

We (young America) may some day find ourselves 
picking ourselves up. Somewhat like Johnnie, obtaining 
little sympathy and still less credit for acting stupid. It 
may be well enough for you to have your physician to 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 77 

puncture a vein in your arm that your blood may flow more 
freely, but you should never have him to slash ^uto an artery 
with a razor, for then you might bleed to death. It may be 
well enough for us to patronize Europe to a certain extent, 
but there is reason in all things. Today, we are not obtain- 
ing the rich flowing immigration we use to have. We might 
afford to patronize Europe in proportion to the patronage we 
receive from her. Europe buys no trash, no snide jewelry, 
no unnecessary wares of merchandise, but generally buys 
good raw material that she can make a profit off of without 
impoverishing her people, while we defraud our people in 
ways too numerous to mention, take our honest dollars made 
in a dishonest way and import unnecessary wares to sell our 
people. If you are rich and "respectable" you can afford to" 
buy up unnecessary wares, but it is a bad policy to overstock 
our markets with imported unnecessary wares because it will 
impoverish our communities to too great an extent. A 
country school-girl has been known to feed a frog on squirrel 
shot ; the ignorant frog would eat this shot, this heavy un- 
necessary diet, until he was unable to hop one inch without 
aid or help. It is bad enough for us to sell our own people 
to death, but it may prove worse to allow Europe to sell us 
to death. 

Europe is rather sweet on selling. After she oversells 
her own people she ships (or did ship) her oversold pau- 
pers to free America, but we have no new country to ship 
our own or Europe's oversold people to. We must bear in 
mind that modern Europe has always been considered a cheat. 
Criticism is the life of wisdom. Wisdom is for our own 
good. Europe seems to be under a natural curse. She has 
been taught through surrounding circumstances, through use 
and custom. She has allowed her non-productive mercantile 
fraternity to depend upon competition between themselves 
in selling wares to their own people instead of depending 
upon a law. Young America may or may not be able to 
continue to live under the weight of her own mistakes, if 
Young America is forced to carry all her own mistakes and 



78 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM!." 

.at the same time labor under the weight of a portion of 
Europe's mistakes, it will be a double dose. "Experience," 
hard "experience is our best teacher." This little pamphlet 
never would have germinated had it not been for the teach- 
ings that hard experience taught the writer. There is such 
a vast difference between the Jews' mode of dealing among 
themselves and between us — we enlightened Gentile Chris- 
tians' mode of dealing among ourselves. 

The next time you happen to walk up the street in 
(Young America) in your city, notice and see if the wise 
Jews are rushing up and down the sidewalk, rushing into 
every store endeavoring to buy out every merchant (at retail 
prices) that happens to have his door open. You may never 
live to see the day. But when we walk up the street and 
see a flock of intelligent superstitious Gentiles rushing into 
every merchant's store where the door happens to be open 
(it not being closed for debt) trying to buy out the town, we 
naturally imagine that good times have come at last. We 
feel over elated and catch the "fever of excitement." We 
must turn our money loose ; (it seems to be born in us.) 
We must procure something any way, any how, a jack-knife, 
jack-pot, coffee pot or what-not ; we must procure something 
whether we need the same or not. "While in Rome we must 
do as the Romans do," although we are aware that Rome fell. 
As Puck says, "What fools we (Gentile) mortals are." 
Why do we wish to "sell" our people to death ? The greater 
pei- cent, of our people that we oversell we are forced to 
either bury them in the "potter's field" or send them to prison. 
You never see the wise Jews selling their people to death, 
neither do they bury their people in fche "potter's field" nor 
send them to prison. 

"We are spirits clad in veils, 

Man by man was never seen, 
All our deep communion fails 

To remove tlie shadowy screen." 

—Rev. C. P. Cranch. 

Man needs protection ; he is incapable of protecting him- 
self. Men need protection ; they are incapable of protecting 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 79 

themselves. Twice the Lord has given us a law, "Thou shalt 
not steal." Any kind of a cheat, anything- that has a tend- 
ency to impoverish t* a cheat. When you imagine your watch 
is incorrect you refer to the "town-clock." Christ was an 
off-spring of a Jewish mother. 



Chapter IX. — The Jew. 

Peter did not deny Christ because he imagined Christ 
to be an imposter, but denied Christ for fear that the ene- 
mies of Christ might do him (Peter) an injury through 
want of heart. Had Christ been kept in prison for a long- 
period, and had Peter raised a family of children in the 
vicinity where the enemies of Christ dwelt, Peter might 
have taught his descendants to deny Christ, for fear that the 
enemies of Christ might do Peter's descendents an injury. 
These descendents of Peter's might eventually believe that 
Christ was an imposter, while Peter himself would not 
believe Christ to be an imposter, but would have taught his 
descendents to believe this, in order to protect his descend- 
ents from the enemies of Christ, who might do Peter's 
descendents an injury through want of heart. The Jews 
today may believe that Christ was an imposter, through 
being taught by their forefathers to believe the same — their 
forefathers teaching them to deny Christ for fear that the 
believers and followers of Christ might do them an injury, 
through want of thought. "An evil is wrought through 
want of thought the same as through want of heart." The 
Jews (we might imagine) have been forced to erect and hold 



80 " A LEYE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 

a " barrier " between themselves and the Gentiles in order 
to protect themselves and their descen dents in a temporal 
way. Should we now wish the Jews to join us Gentiles, 
acknowledge Christ, and become so many of us, we first must 
be able to protect ourselves from ourselves, as the Jews pro- 
tect themselves from themselves. We must be able to pro- 
tect ourselves in a temporal way, the same as the Jews pro- 
tect themselves in a temporal way. Our faults may not lie 
in the way we serve Christ and ascertain spiritual truths, 
the reason that the Jews do not join us and become so many 
of us, but probably the way we ignore temporal truths and 
the way we protect ourselves in a temporal way. Their 
forefathers, their wise forefathers, who were perfect upon 
temporal truths, have taught their descendants to erect and 
hold a "barrier" between themselves and us Gentiles, for 
fear that we might 'do them a temporal, bodily injury through 
want of thought-wisdom. If you was a Jew today, with a 
large family of children, should you break clown this "bar- 
rier" by acknowledging Christ, then yourself, family and 
children and descendents' temporal protection would be 
"left to the mercy of the waves." You and your own 
descendents' temporal protection would be left partly or (we 
might imagine) wholly to "chance." Should you break 
down this " barrier " by acknowledging Christ, it might be 
near the same as if you were signing a death warrant to your 
own descendents. " Those that know nothing fear nothing." 
Under the same principles, those that are the most wise fear 
the most. Had Peter acknowledged Christ, Peter alone 
could have suffered, while if the Jews today acknowledge 
Christ, they and their descendents might suffer. 

At the date and time Christ ascended up to heaven, 
1,866 years ago, the whole Jew nation did not deny Christ, 
the same as they do today. It seems that the Jews must 
have commenced to teach their descendents to deny Christ 
in a general way throughout years after Christ ascended up 
to heaven and since the Gentile world commenced preying 
upon each other. Should the Jews acknowledge Christ, 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 81 

break down this "burner;" we then might defraud and mur- 
der them. It may make but little difference how perfect we 
may be in regard to spiritual truths, we may be imperfect 
in regard to temporal truths. When the Jews first com- 
menced to teach the whole Jew nation to denv Christ in a 
general way throughout, is a conjecture, probably during the 
period of the dark ages. After the Gentiles succumbed to 
too great an extent under the cloud of the dark ages, the 
Jews then were forced to erect a " barrier" between them- 
selves and the Gentiles for self preservation. ' 

As long as we continue to labor under the delusions that 
germinated during the dark ages, so long are the Jews forced 
to maintain this "barrier." We may have perfected our- 
selves in a spiritual way in spiritual knowledge, while our 
knowledge of temporal truths of the most vital importance 
may be in a worse condition than we have the power to 
imagine. We believe that competition between our non- 
productive mercantile fraternity is the life of trade, the life 
of our people. But it may be the exact reverse, it may be 
the death of our people. How can we know till after we 
investigate this matter? How can we recognize good and 
ill where we have no chance of making a comparison ? There 
is no temporal subject of more vital importance than our 
mode of selling the necessities of life, it is our living. "None 
are so blind as those that will not see." 

The Bible teaches us that the Lord ofttimes made calcu- 
lations centuries ahead. When the Lord picked out a coun- 
try for the children of Israel, He chose Canaan, a tract of 
land that was probaMy elevated at too high an altitude to 
cause or admit of regular seasons rains without the aid of a 
supernatural agency. Before the new dispensation the bet- 
ter God's people served Him in a devotional way and obeyed 
His commandments, the better they prospered in a temporal 
way. Before the new dispensation the better the children 
of Israel obeyed the Lord, the better they prospered; as long 
as they obeyed the Lord so long might they expect a plenti- 

6* 



82 

ful harvest, although they were dwelling on a tract of land 
that could not produce enough rain naturally without the 
aid of a supernatural agency. Christ prayed three times in 
the garden that the "cup might pass," but when the assassin 
attempted to drive the nail into our Saviour's flash, the fatal 
'•hammer" was not swerved from its course. After the 
Lord refused to aid His own Son in His temporal wants, in 
a supernatural way (although Christ had prayed three times 
that the '-cup might pass,") then the Lord could not aid the 
Jews in a supernatural way without showing the Jews a 
greater favor thin He did His own Son. The Jews may 
believe to this day that their forefathers underwent a super- 
natural curse in Canaan after the crucifixion of Christ. But 
the Lord may have simply withdrawn His supernatural 
power. After the Lord withdrew His supernatural power 
from the world, from Canaan, then the land could only be 
made productive through artificial means. Had the Jews 
cut irrigating ditches and irrigated their fields, their land 
probably would have produced near the same as before ; but 
after this land failed to produce on account of its drouthy 
tendencies, the Jews may have been led to believe that they 
were a cursed race. 

After the land failed to produce for the need of rain, 
the Jews were forced 10 mort^a^e and leave their homestead 
and dwell among the Gentiles. The Jews probably have 
never undergone a supernatural curse since the crucifixion, 
but God's supernatural agency was withdrawn from the 
world after the fatal hammer was not swerved from its course 
hy a supernatural power. At a certain time and date, the 
Lord promised the children of Israel "a land flowing with 
milk and honey." While the Israelites were yet in the 
wilderness, before they immigrated to Canaan, the Lord gave 
Moses the commandments. After Israel had dwelt in Canaan 
and had followed the commandments, they flourished and 
prospered ; their prosperity constituted "a land flowing with 
milk and honey." By all Israel obeying the commandment, 
"Thou shalt not steal" in its full sense and meaning, selling 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 83 

the necessities and luxuries of life at about two per cent, at 
retail, holding all other enterprises and monopolies down in 
conformity with the merchant, making or recognizing no dis- 
tinction between cheats, but condemning all cheats after they 
had determined what was cheating. Then the poorest of their 
poor could obtain nearly all the necessities and luxuries of life 
at a small cost. None of the people were cheated or de- 
frauded, (while they were obeying the commandments) so 
all could nourish and prosper, unless it was those that were 
too old and infirm to labor. The necessities and luxuries of 
life were sold, raised and manufactured at so low a cost; 
the necessities and luxuries of life were put on t^e market at 
such low figures that none were compelled to g > into the 
mercantile business in order to make a livelihood. A non- 
productive business house was only erected where surround- 
ing circumstances required it. The idea of speculating upon 
the necessities of life under an unlimited margin to their own 
people, probably was unthought of. Their money lenders, 
probably loaned at one (1) per cent, per annum. Had a mer- 
chant sold above one per cent., or had a moneylender loaned 
above two per cent.. Israel would probably have looked upon 
such as a cheat, a theft. The parties would have been guilty 
of endangering life by defrauding and impoverishing. We 
Gentiles defraud each other in ways t?o numerous to mention. 
After we rob our merchants out of their rightful share of 
patronage, and after the merchant robs the whole commun- 
ities, then the communities are all either forced to cheat to 
offset the overcharge they are subject to, else suffer, imre or 
less, under the natural curse of being overcharged for the 
necessities and luxuries of life. We defraud each other in 
different ways where the fraud is shielded under different 
forms, then build asylums, prisons and "poor-houses" to accom- 
modate our poor. Our poor don't only have death hastened 
from being defrauded, but millions and millions of our poor 
are forced to suffer all the known and unknown pangs of 
hunger and stings of poverty, exist a living death, realize all 
the stings of poverty in its known and unknown elements. 



84 



A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. 



"Experience is our best teacher." How are we to be 
taught by this hard experience ? We all admit that "it is 
no disgrace to be poor, but rather inconvenient." If we pro- 
tected our poir the same as Israel protected their poor while 
they were living in Canaan, our poor then might not suffer 
any great inconvenience. When we defraud our fellow man, 
we take the bread (if not the butter) out of his and his 
little starving children's mouths ; we rob them out of their 
chance of social standing, of their chance of acquiring an 
education, force them to grow up and pass a life in ignorance, 
rob them of the cream of life, divorce them from intelligence 
the almost divine attribute of humanity. We force our poor 
to exist a living death, an "outcast" in the cold, cruel world 
we have helped to make. You scarcely ever meet with an 
ignorant, uneducated Jew ; but how many millions of Europe's 
and young America's poor, that have and are yet existing, 
that cannot write their own name? When and where a Jew 
is uneducated, it may be his fault and not the fault of the 
Jewish nation. In educating your people there is else to do 
outside of building school-houses. Don't defraud the poor 
out of their last dime that is to procure their last crumb, 
then build a brick school-house and expect pauper children 
to attend school in their ragged clothes and memorize their 
lessons on top of an empty stomach. "The poor are wholly 
dependent upon the character of the rich." "A stream can- 
not rise above its source." We all admit that "the modern 
world is a cheat;" we all admit that "there is no worse a sin 
than trying to get rich in a hurry." What is meant by "no 
worse a sin? ' In our courts we ofttimes hang. a man on a 
"chain of circumstantial evidence" after we have convicted 
him of murder on a "chain of circumstantial evidence." Let 
us now attempt to c nvict (if not hang) the modern world, 
we who constitute the modern world, by a chain of circum- 
stantial evidence. As long as we are forced to admit that 
the modern world is a cheat, so long may we consider our- 
selves who constitute the modern world, liable of murder. 
We have ignored temporal truths to such a great extent 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 85 

that when we now commence to analyze the same, we find 
that they are "stranger than fiction." "Ignorance is sin." 
Under the laws of the new dispensation it is a sin to ignore 
temporal truths. 

Probably the modern world has only been considered a 
cheat, in a general way, since and after she commenced 
ignoring temporal truths. We Gentile Christians seem to 
imagine that we only have to ascertain spiritual truths and 
allow temporal to go ignored. Now, when we ascertain 
what we have been ignoring, Ave find ourselves guilty of 
murder — figuratively speaking. Can we wonder at the Jews 
for maintaining a "barrier" between the "two of us?" We 
never have attempted to compare our temporal mode of deal- 
ing with the Jews, because they deny the existence of Jesus 
Christ. Are not we Gentile Christians supposed to be the 
representatives of Christ? We may be perfect or near per- 
fection in regard to spiritual truths, while our deficiency is 
in regard to > 7^prrtteal truths. We only represent Christ 
spiritually, but if we wish to represent Christ — prove to the 
world that there is a living God — we should produce "a land 
flowing with milk and honey." Young America may or 
may not raise enough of the necessities of life, if all could 
obtain what they needed ; but had we double the amount, 
what good would it do our starving poor if the price was too 
high? What good is one thousand bushels of corn locked 
up in a crib to a starving horse in the manger? Place a high 
priced muzzle upon a hungry tramp and turn him loose in a 
" French restaurant," he would starve as readily as though 
he was on a barren desert. 

We sometimes wonder why the Jews all seem to "stick" 
to each other. They are obeying the commandment " Thou 
shalt not steal" in dealing among themselves. 



11 In youth I sought for some flower rare, 
But searched in vain in every clime and state; 

'Till old, I wandered home in dark despair, 
And found the flower by my garden gate." 

—Clifford Howard. 



^ \Jur^J^<rv-^ 



86 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. 



Should you wish to ascertain temporal truths, go to the 
wise Jew. After we cheat our own people we give them 
cold victuals and good advice. We make paupers out of 
our people in ways too numerous to mention, then ofttimes 
give one of them a dime's worth of cold pie and a hundred 
dollars worth of good advice. But the Jews give their 
people protection before they are impoverished. "A stitch 
in time saves nine." "He that hath pity upon the poor 
lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath given will 
He pay him again." What is it that you can give to the 
poor and receive the same in return ? It is not wealth. 
Should you bequeath one million to the poor, the poor might 
not repay you; the Lord might not repay you — you cannot 
buy a seat in heaven. The Jew teaches us what we can 
give the poor and receive the same in return, it is protection. 
Should we wish to give our poor protection, be charitable in a 
wholesale manner, we first would need to establish " a live 
and let live price system," so all could live aud let live ; so 
none would have their lives cut off from impoverishment. If 
our retail merchants were selling at two per cent, all other 
enterprises brought and held down in proportion, we then 
would be "giving to the poor." We then would receive 
this same protection and benefit the same as the poor. We 
could not aid the poor in this direction without aiding our- 
selves at the same time. Our poor then would all flourish 
and prosper and be able to patronize our industries and 
enterprises the more. Our people of the well-to-do order 
would prosper the more; life would then be "as easy as 
living upon a farm." 

We remind a "good old slavery times" darkey's refrain 
that will suit the occasion : 

"Raccoon has a ringed tail, 

'Possum tail am bare, 
Rabbit got no tail at all, 

But a little bunch o' hair." 

The Jew's "live and let live price system," (in dealing 
among themselves), is perfect ; it represents the coon's tail. 






87 

Europe's system represents the opossum's tail ; it is bare, in- 
sufficient, while Young America is somewhat like the rabbit, 
has no tail (system) at all. By Europe being forced to put 
on more or less restrictions of different characters and estab- 
lishing a "make-shift* of a system, she might continue to go 
centuries longer without ascertaining the vital necessity of 
discarding the private costmark and condemning all cheats. 
But by Young America having no make-shift of a system, 
having no natural restrictions, "necessity, the mother of in- 
vention," may force upon us good reasons to establish a sys- 
tem in its proper form. You may put up with a leaky house 
for a number of months, but if your house has no roof, you 
may then be forced to establish a good substantial roof over 
your head. Young America is independent. She can take 
pattern from Europe in regard to spiritual truths, and take 
pattern from the Jews in regard to temporal truths. Europe's 
mode of religion, spiritually, may do to take pattern from, 
while the Jew's mode of merchandise (in dealing among 
themselves) may suit us better than Europe's mode. Why 
did the Lord choose Canaan an elevated district that would 
not produce without the aid of artificial or supernatural aid? 
The Jews were forced to dwell among the Gentiles, and as 
long as the Gentiles neglected to protect honest labor, the 
Jews would be forced to live off of the Gentiles as well as 
among them. As long as the Gentiles defrauded the people, 
so long would the Jews defraud the Gentiles. The Jews are 
supposed to teach the Gentiles by hard experience what they 
failed to comprehend by precept. The Jews do not labor in 
the field, at public works, &c, because we don't protect hon- 
est labor. "Labor is not dignified till it works as little as 
possible. What we may imagine, the dignity of labor is a 
myth, for drudgery will always be degrading." A wise man 
will not drudge nor force his family to drudge, because it is 
degrading. We Gentiles do not protect honest labor, so hon- 
est labor is drudgery, and drudgery is degrading. 

If Europe and Young America should establish a "sys- 
tem" in its perfect form so that the necessities and luxuries 



88 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

of life could be procured as cheap as the same were had in 
Canaan, then we, both Jews and Gentiles, could condescend 
to labor, because then honest labor would be dignified by 
working as little as possible. Honest labor then would not 
be degrading, because labor then would work as little as poss- 
ible, and would not be a drudge. 



Chapter X. — Rothschild. 



At the time of the battle of Waterloo, Rothschild man 
aged to he first informed how the battle terminated, and had 
a false report circulated in the city of London. This had a 
tendency to cause real estate to depreciate in value. Here 
Rothschild managed to make a grand speculation. England 
gained the day in battle, but Rothschild gained more or less 
of England's gold. Had the French gained the day, confis- 
cated the whole of England, England would have had a 
chance to have obtained her country back again ; besides, 
England would have had a chance to have taken the whole 
of France through force of aims; she would have had a 
chance to have gained in battle near the same as she took 
chances in losing in battle. Had Rothschild went to war wiih 
England, and had Rothschild taken the whole of England, 
confiscated the same, England would have had a chance from 
that day to this to have redeemed her country, through force 
of arms, besides England would have had a chance to have 
confiscated more or less property belonging to Rothchild; 
she would have had a chance to have gained in battle near 






89 

the same as what she might have lost in battle. Had Roths- 
child attempted to have confiscated the whole of England, 
through force of arms, England's ablest men would have 
been k4 waked up," for when a country is confiscated the rich 
and otherwise intelligent men of controlling influence suffer 
the extremes under the rules of confiscation. But Roths- 
child simply speculated off of England to a certain extent. 
England's rich and otherwise intelligent men probably did 
not suffer the extremes (at the time being), on account of 
Rothschild's speculation. They may have complained more 
or less, but could not suffer the extremes till after their last 
dollar had disappeared, but their controlling influence dis- 
appeared with their last dollar. It is the rich and otherwise 
intelligent men of controlling influence that suffer the 
•extremes under the rules of confiscation, while it is the poor 
who suffer the extremes under the effects of speculation. 

After Rothschild speculated and obtained this gold off of 
England, England went to speculating off of Egypt and 
other countries. But why did not England attempt to obtain 
the same gold back from Rothschild that Rothschild had 
obtained off of England? Probably England imagined that 
any one gold dollar was worth as much as another. Had 
Rothschild taken the whole of England by force of arms 
instead of obtaining some of England's gold by speculating, 
would England have gone to Egypt or elsewhere hunting 
for a new homestead? Or would England have attempted 
to have obtained her same "home, sweet home" back again? 
Rothschild, in his grand swindling speculation, was teaching 
England a hard lesson in experience, in a natural way, but 
it was like throwing so much water upon a duck's back. 
" None are so blind as those that will not see." 

Had England been unable to have speculated off of 
any other country she might have learned more or less wis- 
dom through hard experience. Had England been unable 
to have obtained a single gold (or silver) dollar off of any 
other country, the author of this pamphlet then probably 
would have been born in England instead of Young America. 



90 

Had Israel (the Jews) owned England at the time of 
the battle of Waterloo, Rothschild could not have gotten off 
with his grand swindling speculation, because the Jews 
recognize no distinction between cheats in dealing among- 
themselves. All transactions would have been declared 
"off" the same as our race horse clubs, who declare ali bets 
off after they detect a fraud upon the race course. There is 
generally a certain amount of honesty among thieves ; this is> 
probably because one thief is as wise as another, and will 
ask for his rights. 

We may miss a great deal in life through being too 
stylish to ask for what we do not see upon the board. "Cer- 
emony is the worst enemy to enjoyment." Had the Chinese 
owned England at the time of the battle of Waterloo, Roths- 
child could not have gotten off with his speculation. China 
may labor under more or less superstitious delusions, but 
not of this character. China has "got sense like a mule" 
in regard to swindles. Had the cannibal savages owned 
England at the time of the battle of Waterloo, they probably 
would have highly indorsed this swindle the same as England. 
The cannibals, somewhat like we Gentile Christians, indorse 
most any kind of a swindle, but it might have proved haz- 
ardous for Rothschild to have swindled the cannibals to too 
great an extent, for should they have found themselves hun- 
gry, and Rothschild fat from the effects of this swindle, the 
cannibals might have called for a French (Jew) stew. Had 
England understood the full meaning of the commandment 
'« Thou shalt not steal " at the time and date of the battle 
of Waterloo, she would have had her retail merchants sell- 
ing at about two per cent., her money lenders loaning at one 
(1) per cent. By her retailers selling at this given margin 
England, recognizing no distinction between cheat-*, Roths- 
child could not have gotten off with his swindle, neither 
could he have loaned above one per cent, at the time of the 
battle of Waterloo or since that date. Had England or the 
enlightened Gentile Christian world never been under the 
superstitious delusion that the enlightened Gentile Christian! 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 91 

world is today and has been back to a certain (or uncertain) 
date and time, Rothschild never could have loaned above 
one per cent, and could not have gotten off with his swindle 
at the time of the battle of Waterloo. Today Rothschild's 
little sack of gold would not be felt by the world. Roths- 
child is simply a modern Alexander, and may eventually 
weep (shed silent tears) after there is no more gold for 
him to obtain. Rothschild is a modern Alexander, but of a 
different and more dangerous type. Because Rothschild is 
more modest and calm than Alexander was in his day and 
time, that is no reason why Rothschild's strength and inge- 
nuity should be considered iuferior to that of Alexander's. 
Where the ocean is the most calm and modest, there you 
may find it the deepest. Rothschild's cannons emit no flame 
or smoke, the shells make no noise, and only explode among 
the poor. 

The rich may complain on account of Rothschild obtain- 
ing too great amount of the world's gold, but will not suffer 
the extremes through the scarcity of gold till after their last 
dollar is gone. Their influence will disappear with their 
last dollar, and the cheating world will roll on as though 
naught had happened, but may simply imagine that "another 
good man has gone wrong." If Rothschild was attempting 
to conquer the world by force of arms, our rich and intelli- 
gent classes would be attempting to "head him off," because 
it is the rich who suffer the extremes from a confiscating 
enemy. But where Rothschild is obtaining the world's gold 
on too fast a scale, our smaller monopolies attempt to obtain 
what little gold they can possibly get their clutches on, which 
has a tendency to shield Rothschild who continues to take 
sure and long-measured strides. Instead of the Gentile 
world's ablest men attempting to check Rothschild's advance 
by condemning all cheats the same as Christ, they indorse 
most every kind of a cheat that is shielded under the slightest 
form. Instead of the Gentile world attempting to check 
this growing evil, we Gentiles fall in line behind Rothschild 
the same as the people used to join Alexander's army. 



92 

England is the "leader" of the modern world. She has 
been "pitting her knowledge against Rothschild's wisdom." 
"Knowledge comes, but wisdom tarries." By the time that 
England's wisdom arrives, Rothschild may have all of the 
world's gold. We must bear in mind that had one dime been 
put out at ten per cent, interest, With compound interest at- 
tached, at the time of the birth of Christ, today there would 
not be enough gold to redeem the same. By this we are 
able to judge at about what per cent, a money lender should 
realize. But the retail merchant must first be forced to sell 
at about two per cent., the wholesaler in conformity, as well 
as all other enterprises and monopolies. All are forced to 
patronize the retailer. There must be a live and let live 
price for the retailer before any monopoly or enterprise can 
be checked or regulated. When we Gentile Christians make 
and recognize a distinction between cheats while wise Israel 
is scattered among us, we must suffer the consequence. We 
are forced to ascertain the full meaning of the commandment, 
"Thou shalt not steal," by precept, example or hard ex- 
perience. 

In Alexander's day and time, waring was the fashion 
and folly of the day. Alexander took a hand in the game, 
played lucky and conquered the world. After the world 
was convinced of the extreme folly of waring, she estab- 
lished ministers of war in order to check this evil. Speculating 
on too fast a scale, swindling and cheating shielded under 
different forms, has been for the longest and is increasing each 
succeeding year, but how are we to check it o: ily through the 
aid of a "system!" Alexander conquered and obtained the 
woild, but gave the people their world back again, but how 
about Rothschild giving back the world her gold ? 

It might be deemed against the rules of etiquette for 
the world to accept of this gold should Rothschild proffer to 
give it back. Alexander giving us back the world is some- 
what different to Rothschild giving us back our gold. He 
has been lending and is yet lending at four per cent, or at a 
greater percent., where a money lender is cheating (stealing) 






" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 93 

when he lends at above one per cent. This weight is not 
felt by England so bad as elsewhere because England is lend- 
ing at a proportionate rate, so England might continue on 
without learning from hard experience. Rothschild has been 
handling England as though she was a child because Engl md 
don't seem to understand the word "steal." At the date 
and time that Rothschild made his grand swindle, England 
then would, probably, jail a man for debt and hang a man 
for stealing a sheep ; but where a party could swindle her 
people or government out of millions, shielded under the 
slightest form, she imagined it was right. What is our Bible 
for if not to teach us temporal truths the same as spiritual ? 

After we enlightened Gentile Christians recognized a dis- 
tinction between cheats, after we grot into the habit of lifting 1 
our hats too high to those that were "rich and respectable," 
and after Rothschild once obtained a good foothold, it was 
"duck soup" and "easy sailing" for him. The richer he be- 
comes, the more "rich and respectable" he becomes and the 
higher up go our hats, and it may be only a matter of time 
before the world will have a modern Alexander, but we may 
"whistle" through our fingers before Rothschild gives back 
the world her gold. 

Alexander was only in fun, while Rothschild may be 
in dead earnest. It may not matter whether we envy Roths- 
child his gold or not. That would not change any facts. 
But the main trouble is this, where one party obtains too much 
gold, it makes it too inconvenient for others. We may not 
mind living without gold, as far as the gold itself is con- 
cerned, but the inconvenience that the scarcity of gold may 
subject us to. We might not mind if Rothschild owned a 
"bushel of gold," provided we did not suffer any incon- 
venience thereof. We are not complaining on account of the 
amount of gold that Rothschild has, and is accumulating on 
too fast a scale, but dread the inconvenience that we and our 
descendents may have to suffer hereafter from the effects of 
the scarcity of gold. Envying and begrudging one his riches 
is one thing, while dreading the stings of poverty is quite 



94 

different. We are commanded, "Thou shalt not covet ;" 
prior to this commandment we read, "Thou shalt not steal." 
In order to obey one commandment, we are ofttimes first 
forced to obey another. After we break the commandment, 
"Thou shalt not steal," and allow it to be broken, necessity 
and surrounding circumstances almost force us to break the 
commandment "Thou shalt not covet." After we once at- 
tempt to obey the commandments, we should obey them all 
strictly ; not make a botch of them, not pick out and obey a 
portion or a part of a portion. We should not attempt to 
rectify any of the commandments through want of thought 
nor through want of heart. We have established ministers 
of war and have somewhat checked this once growing evil 
by establishing ministers of war in a systematical form. Now 
we need to establish "a live and let live price system" in 
order to check cheats. 

England is the "leader" of the modern world, while 
England's English lords are (or have been) the leaders of 
England. An English lord has been known to rob his child 
and deed the bulk of the property to the eldest son. Has a 
man a right to rob his own child? It is a wise man that 
knows when he cheats. It is true that these younger heirs 
are better provided for than the general run of heirs, besides 
a father may have a perfect right to dispose of his property 
as he chooses. But it is the effect it has had, and still has 
upon the modern world. After a lord robs his own child in 
order that the eldest son may be "rich and respectable," we 
think nothing of defrauding our fellow man. These lords 
were forced to rob their own children in order that their 
names might be handed down in prosperity. Probably the 
private cost mark was introduced, and the mercantile fra- 
ternity selling the necessities of life without any lawful limit 
on margin of profits. Had England never allowed the pri- 
vate costmark to have been introduced ; had she condemned 
the private costmark and had condemned all cheats, the 
necessities and luxuries of life could have been procured at 
such low rates that the people could have flourished and 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 95 

prospered. England would have been "a land flowing with 
milk and honey." These English lords would not have 
needed to have robbed their younger children in order that 
their names might be handed down in prosperity. Super- 
stitious delusions, like the hairs of our head, we may not 
know how many we labor under till after they are counted. 
We don't say that modern England originated the private 
costmark. Had she been smart enough to have originated 
the private costmark, she would have been smart or wise 
enough to have protected herself against Rothschild's swindle. 
The private costmark must have germinated during the dark 
ages by ignorant people who were incapable of establishing 
a law from the commandment, u Thou shalt not steal." From 
the Hay the private costmark was first introduced, from that 
day to this, the whole enlightened modern Christian's mode 
of living has been deranged. This derangement is what 
allowed Rothschild to get off with his swindle. This de- 
rangement forces an English lord to rob his own child in 
order to save and have his name handed down in prosperity. 
The modern world has been a cheat and a murderess ever 
since this derangement. Show me the man that has never 
cheated ? The hardest thief to run down and convict is the 
man that cheats yet is ignorant of the fact. Since the modern 
world's mode of selling her merchandise is deranged, most 
everything else is deranged. A burglar that enters a house, 
kills the inmates and robs the till, is a wise man. He knows 
that he has murdered and robbed. But the most dangerous 
class of thieves and murderers that walk the green earth, are 
those that rob and murder yet are ignorant of the fact. To 
murder and rob and know it is bad enough, but to rob and 
murder and not know it, it is (as Mark Twain would say) 
■"perfectly ridiculous." 

A man that will continue to murder and steal and know 
it is a fool (as Sam Jones says). Did you ever tackle a 
fool? But a man or nation that will continue to rob and 
murder, and not know it, is the biggest fool of the two. Are 
you a murderer and a thief? Or are you a thief and rnur- 



96 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 

derer? "Know thyself." How can a man defraud another 
without endangering life? Should you shoot and kill a 
deer with an Infield rifle and should the ball after passing 
through the deer's body speed on its course one mile farther 
and kill a darkey who was splitting rails upon an adjacent 
hill, would not you be guilty of murder? You might be 
ignorant, but not innocent. Never draw a brad and press 
the trigger of a small-bored rifle, let alone a large one, unless 
you are sure about where the ball stops. More p.ople are 
murdered in modern times (since the private costmark was 
introduced) through want of thought than through want of 
heart. Since our mode of living is deranged, a man is forced 
to be rich in order to be "rich and respectable." Christ com- 
manded " Thou shalt not steal," in order to allow us to live 
on a near equalization, so all could realize the benefits and 
luxuries of life equally. When a rich American Jew meets 
with one of our poorest Jews it is near the same as two 
angels meeting in heaven (in one respect) they meet on an 
equal social f oting and standing. The rich Jew don't go 
down in the slums to drag his fellow man out, but simply 
gives him protection ; sells him at two per cent, and loans 
him at about one. This rich Jew don't defraud his own fellow 
man. If you can obtain wealth without defrauding your 
fellow man, do so. We would like to come and dine with 
you, but if you are forced to defraud \ our fallow man in 
order to be "rich and respectable," your "sponge cake" 
might choke us, if it was not for the wine you gave to wash 
it down. 




A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 97 



Chapter XI. — Religion. 

Should you find yours df adrift in mid ocean, with a 
sailor, in an open boat, the good ship in which you embarked 
having sprung a lea.v and sank, your sailor friend and self 
the only survivors. Your sailor friend and self are adrift in 
an open boat, without food or shelter, where you both are 
scorched by the hot rays of a tropical sun by dav and chilled 
by the cold, heavy dews by night. It may make but little 
difference how good a Christian you always have been 
and still continue to be, or how wicked a man the sailor is 
now and always has been; you may pray both night and day 
while the sailor may swear both day and night, you both 
may share about the same fate temporally. You may realize 
more or less spiritual consolation, while the sailor may suffer 
under the weight of a guilty conscience, but otherwise you 
will receive no temporal aid or benefits more than the wicked 
sailor. Should you and the sailor be in separate boats and 
adrift leagues apart, it then would only be a matter of 
" chance " which would be picked up by a passing vessel or 
which would be left to perish. But had this happened before 
the crucifixion, by your being over religious you might hold out 
your hat and it would be filled with manna ; the ravens might 
bring you food, or some good old prophet might be warned 
through a dream of your perilous position, send a ship and 
pick you up. But since the crucifixion of Christ, since the 
Lord refused to aid His own son in a supernatural way, it 
will rain upon the unjust the same as the just. From this 
we may judge that it will not rain any more upon the just 
than the unjust. We cannot be aided in our temporal wants 
in a supernatural way. . . . While at ten years of age 
your twin brother and self will not attend the Sabbath-school 
on a certain Sabbath, your father being called away cannot 
accompany you twins, but he commands you twins to remain 

at home and recite your lessons to your mother. You mem- 

7* 



98 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

orize and recite your Sunday-school lesson to your mother to 
perfection, but your twin brother neglects his lesson, and 
breaks the Sabbath by stealing apples from an adjoining 
neighbor's orchard. When your father returns home he is 
made acquainted of your good and your brother's bad beha- 
vior. You may receive more or less praise (spiritual conso- 
lation) for your good behavior, while your brother may be 
reprimanded (made to suffer under the weight of a guilty 
conscience) for his bad behavior. But when the family- 
gather at the board, the evening meal, your father will make 
no distinction in helping yours and your brother's plate to 
the luxuries of the table. Your wicked brother will be 
helped to the luxuries of the table just the same as yourself, 
whether he will enjoy the same as well as you will be owing 
to the amount of belief he has in his guilt. Should you 
wish your father to help you to some of the tarts and jellies 
that are in the cupboard, that are not on the table, extra, of 
which your brother is not to share on account of your good 
obedience, it would show a selfish disposition on your part, 
besides it would show that you overrated your good beha- 
vior, and underrated the luxuries that your father had already 
placed upon the table. Because you imagine you are 
not as wicked as your brother, you wish extra favors that he 
is not supposed to partake of. Because your brother is more 
wicked than you, that does not mike you any the better. 
Have you never sinned ? You probably have forgotten the 
day you stole the teacakes out of the pantry. It may be 
true that your brother stole and ate as many as yourself, yet 
you have sinned. Your father may have promised not to 
remember this circumstance against you, since you have 
somewhat reformed, still yet you have sinned. . . . 

Should you live to the age of one hundred years, com- 
mence serving the Lord at the age of ten, put in ninety 
years of devotional prayer, be one of the best spiritual 
Christians that the modern world ever produced, you could 
not repay Christ for what He has suffered for you upon the 
cross. Should you expect any extra temporal benefits more 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. 7 \)\) 

than the wicked enjoy (outside of spiritual consolation) you 
would thereby underrate what Christ has suffered for yon, 
and overrate your life's devotion. Outside of what Christ has 
suffered for you, Christ has pr >mised you a joint heirship 
with Him in heaven forever. This promise of joint heirship 
is more than you can ever expect to deserve with all of your 
life's devotion. Should you expect any temporal benefits 
more than the wicked enjoy (outside of spiritual consolation) 
you overrate your life's devotion and underrate the promise 
of this heirship. 

You may enjoy more spiritual consolation by rendering 
spiritual prayers more than your fellow man, but in regard 
to temporal blessings and temporal benefits, you will realize 
these the same as your fellowman. Should you wish to en- 
joy all the temporal benefits upon earth that the Lord in- 
tended that His people should enjoy, you must not only obey 
the temporal commandments and teachings of the Bible, but 
your people — your nation — must obey these commandments 
correctly in order that you and your people may enjoy all 
the temporal benefits that the Lord intended for m mkind. 

Don't fall upon your knees, pray a long spiritual prayer, 
and expect Christ to aid you in both a spiritual and in a 
temporal way. Don't expect to be paid twice for one piece 
of work. You may receive more or less spiritual consolation, 
receive more or less spiritual aid, but for you to expect any 
temporal aid, (outside of spiritual consolation), it is a fatal, 
dangerous delusion. The Lord will not aid us in our tem- 
poral wants on account of our spiritual prayers. Christ 
prayed the first spiritual prayer when he prayed in the gar- 
den that "the cup might pass" but the Lord refused to aid 
his own Son in his temporal wants in a supernatural way 
according to Christ's spiritual prayer. Christ received spir- 
itual consolation but no temporal aid ; the fatal hammer was 
not swerved from its course. When we expect the Lord to 
aid us in a temporal way on account of our spiritual prayers, 
we expect a greater favor than Christ received. 

Under the laws of the old dispensation, the Lord of ttimes 



100 

cursed and punished or blessed and aided His people in a 
supernatural way, then the people had the temporal com- 
mandments to obey, rendered burnt offerings but rendered no 
spiritual prayers. They were not aided in their temporal 
wants in a supernatural way according to their spiritual 
prayers, but were aided in their temporal wants in a super- 
natural way according to the way they obeyed tue temporal 
commandments and offered their burnt offerings, under the 
laws of the new dispensation — 

. After the Lord refused to swerve the fatal hammer from 
its course in a supernatural way, since then "as the tree falleth 
so shall it lie." We will not be aided or cursed (temporally) 
in a supernatural way (outside of spiritual consolation and 
the weight of a guilty conscience) ; we may receive out full 
reward or punishment after we cross the river of death. We 
may not be punished in this life in a temporal way for diso- 
beying the spiritual teachings, neither will we be blessed in 
a temporal way for obeying the same outside of spiritual 
consolation. 

In our Bible we find two classes of teachings and com- 
mandmeuts ; spiritual and temporal. In order to obey the 
spiritual teachings we erect churches and establish systems 
of spiritual worship ; in order to obey the temporal command- 
ments we erect court-houses and establish laws. In obeying 
the spiritual teachings we can render spiritual prayers, serve 
the Lord in a spiritual manner by praying in our closets in 
secret or by attending church and praying in a public manner. 
We can obey the spiritual teachings individually, separately, 
or collectively. In obeying the spiritual teachings and com- 
mandments we are independent ; not necessarily forced to be 
dependent upon others. Others may do as they choose "but 
for me and my house we will serve the Lord." But in obey- 
ing the temporal teachings and temporal commandments we 
cannot obey the temporal commandments separately, in- 
dividually; independent of others. We can only obey the 
temporal commandments collectively in a national way. 
"While in Rome we are forced to do as the Romans do." 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 101 

In order to obey the spiritual teachings of our Bible and 
realize all the spiritual blessings, we are supposed to work 
out our own soul's salvation, separate and apart. "Each tub 
must stand upon its own bottom." But in order to obey the 
temporal teachings and commandments and be able to realize 
all the temporal blessings that the Lord has intended that we 
should realize, this can only be accomplished in a collective 
or nationaj way. Should we (Young America) obey the 
temporal teachings of our Bible collectively in a national 
way the same as our American Jews seem to obey these teach- 
ings in dealing among themselves ; should we be able to pro- 
duce "a land flowing with milk and honey" the same as 
Israel did in Canaan, then we could realize all the temporal 
blessings and benefits that the Lord has intended we should. 
Our unjust people would realize these same temporal bless- 
ings, and then would have the more faith and confidence in 
the spiritual teachings of our Bible. By us producing "a 
land flowing with milk and honey," this act itself would be 
introducing Christ. Our light would shine, the whole world 
could see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. 
We could prove to the world God's good will to all mankind. 
After the world had seen these temporal blessings, the world 
then would have the more faith and confidence in man and 
more faith and confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

It may be true that spiritual truths will aid us in pro- 
tecting our morals to a certain extent, but we need to obey 
the temporal commandments and teachings of our Bible in a 
collective or national way in order to protect our people's 
morals. When poverty enters the door, good morals and 
good resolutions go out at the window, especially with the 
young. After poverty is properly introduced the old die off, 
then the community is totally demoralized. "Experience is 
our best teacher" but it is generally the poor little starving, 
freezing, impoverished children that realize this too hard ex- 
perience. You must realize the sting of the wasp before you 
can know how much pain it can inflict. Some of our poor 
pauper children's little innocent hearts are nulled from beat- 



102 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

ing from the effects of poverty before they reach demoraliza- 
tion. After they are impoverished to the death, Christ 
reaches down and saves these little ones from becoming 
totally demoralized, by taking them up to Himself. Note 
how our American Jews protect their people, their poor peo- 
ple's morals, and note how we Christians protect our poor 
people's morals. The Jews deny Christ, (probably for good 
reasons) yet they are moral models compared with us. When 
we attempt to make a comparison between two nations of 
people we must include all, include the poor and note from 
the poorest up. The Jews protect their people's, their poor's, 
morals through the aid of temporal truths, probably to a 
great extent ; they protect most all their poor's morals, while 
millions and millions of our poor have passed out of this life 
totally demoralized, besides the thousands of our totally de- 
moralized poor that are still existing. It may require the 
least mite of the world's wealth to keep disgrace, if not sus- 
picion, from resting upon an unblemished character. You 
seldom ever see a beggar pauper Jew. 

Paul while writing to the Ephesians wrote : "Honor 
thy father and mother which is the first commandment with 
promise, that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live 
long on the earth." The greatest honor you have conferred 
upon your parents (whether they be living or dead) is to 
have their child (yourself) honored. If your people — your 
friends — will protect you in procuring the necessities of life, 
your life may not be cut off for want of proper food and 
raiment, besides you may not need to undergo too many hard- 
ships and exposure where you are protected by your friends — 
your people. You must honor your parents through your 
friends. If your life was prolonged on account of your piety 
towards your parents, that would prove that it rained the 
more upon the just than the unjust. Christ's life was not 
prolonged on account of his piety — can you be better than 
Christ ? The average life of the American Gentile is about 
thirty-three years, while the average life of the American 
Jew is about fifty-five. The Jews seem to obey the first 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 103 

commandment with promise to perfection in dealing among 
themselves. 

Christ commanded "Honor thy father and mother." (St. 
Mark 10 chap., latter part of 19 verse). This commandment 
that Christ gave was meant for piety towards our parents, 
while Paul's commandment is of a different meaning ; it is 
for our temporal benefit. We might obey both of these com- 
mandments at one and the same time the same as the Jews. 
In our blue back speller we read : '-The Jews are a nation 
who accept the Old Testament, but reject the New and ex- 
pect a Savior yet to come." Prior to the time that Christ 
ascended up to heaven, He commanded His twelve disciples 
to go and preach the gospel. Who were these twelve dis- 
ciples ? Were they not principally Jews ? Today we find 
no Jew ministers preaching Christ. 

Today the Jews deny Christ, but a close observe]' will 
discover that they follow most, if not all, the temporal teach- 
ings of the New Testament. It may be true that the Jews 
today never see inside of the pages of the New Testament, 
but at the same time they may follow the teachings of the 
same through the aid of use and custom. We Christians of 
today did not originate the folly of making and recognizing 
a distinction between cheats but have learned to do so through 
the power of use and custom. Under the >ame principle the 
Jews today may follow the temporal teachings of the New 
Testament through the aid of use and custom. "Custom," 
savs Lord Bacon, "is man's chief magistrate." A people 
may learn to do either good or ill through use and custom. 

These Jew disciples of Christ may have, preached the 
doctrines of the New Testament to Israel as well as to the 
Gentiles. After Christ had ascended up to heaven, and be- 
fore the dark waves of the dark ages deluged the enlightened 
or partially enlightened world, Israel may have become used 
and accustomed to these temporal teachings as well as spir- 
itual teachings of the New Testament. 

After the dark waves struck the world Israel may have 
continued to follow the temporal teachings of the doctrine 



104 "A LEVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM.'' 

of the New Testament, but Israel discontinued folloAving the 
spiritual teachings. Our Jews of today may follow the tem- 
poral teachings of the New Testament through the power of 
use and custom, yet at the same time not see inside of its 
pages. Christ gave His twelve Jew disciples the gospel of 
the new dispensation and commanded them to preach the 
gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Today we rind the descend- 
ants of these disciples denying Christ, yet following the tem- 
poral laws of the new dispensation. While Christ was upon 
earth He established a union between the Jew and Gentile. 
("United we stand, divided we fall.") After the dark waves 
of the dark ages had deluged the world for a period of 1,200 
(more or less) years, we find this union that Christ had estab- 
lished "split in twain," disunited. 

The dark waves of the dark ages seem to have "flushed" 
us Jews and Gentiles and we have not been able to reunite 
ourselves. There seems to be a misunderstanding. We 
Gentile Christians and the Jews might attempt to unravel 
this "skien" that the dark waves of the dark ages, time and 
surrounding circumstances entwined about us while the 
black clouds of the dark ages hovered low over us and en- 
tirely obscured all surroundings. We Christians and Jews 
should attempt to get placed back into the same position that 
Christ placed our forefathers while He was upon earth. It 
cannot be the delusions that we, this generation, have allowed 
to germinate that caused the Jew and Gentile to be dis- 
united, because thi's disunion existed before this, our now, 
generation's time. This disunion "happened" probably during 
the dark ages. We Jews and Gentiles now might attempt 
to unearth most all the superstitious delusions that originated 
during the period of the dark ages. "What is life, this 
enigma, this riddle of ages ? " It is probably a knowledge 
of spiritual and temporal truths. Heretofore we never have 
thought of comparing our mode of dealing among ourselves 
with the Jews' mode of dealing among themselves, because 
the Jews deny Christ. We might not only compare our 
modes of dealing, but attempt to unveil this hidden mystery 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 105 

that now exists between the two. The Jews have borne a 
tolerably good character since the time of Moses. Christ 
was an offspring of a Jewish mother. When we attempt to 
trace our own lineage back, we only can go a few centuries 
then come to a dark chasm, besides our character of today 
shows up none too good. We have progressed and advanced 
spiritual truths and spiritual doctrines probably to a greater 
extent than spiritual doctrines were ever advanced, while at 
the same time we must admit that we have ignored temporal 
truths to a proportionate rate. Our defects today may not 
be in ignoring spiritual truths but in ignoring temporal. 
Some of us church members criticise upon the way our good 
ministeis explain spiritual truths. Where some of our min- 
isters do not expound spiritual truths in scientific enough a 
style to suit our taste and fancy, we politely but positively 
request their resignation. Some of us church members don't 
only ignore temporal truths, but almost force our ministers 
to do the same by criticising on the way our ministers ex- 
plain spiritual truths. So some of our almost ablest ministers 
have a poor chance at best to ascertain the vital necessity of 
mastering temporal truths. After we ignore temporal truths 
to too great an extent for too long a period, and after we be- 
come more or less demoralized from the effects thereof, then 
our ministers are forced to preach spiritual doctrines the 
harder in order to check us in our downward career, who 
may obtain little credit and still less pay for their noble ex- 
ertions. It may require a keener intellect, a brighter brain 
and a steadier nerve to pilot a ship out from amung an in- 
numerable number of invisible shoals, (where it has been 
allowed to drift) than to guide an easy sailing craft upon 
the main sea road. During the period of the dark ages the 
mode of obeying the spiritual and temporal teachings of the 
Bible declined. Within the last few centuries we have ad- 
vanced the mode of obeying the spiritual doctrines almost to 
perfection, with one exception (if not any more). It seems 
that we imagine that it surely will rain the more upon the 
just (in a temporal way) than the unjust. 



106 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

We seem to imagine that the better we serve the Lord 
in a spiritual way the better we will prosper in a temporal 
way. If we obey the temporal commandments in a temporal 
way, we then may expect to prosper in a temporal way. If 
we obey the spiritual teachings, we may expect to prosper in 
a spiritual way, realize more or less spiritual consolation* 
We may not prosper in a temporal way, simply by obeying 
the spiritual teachings and disobeying the tempo, al. Neither 
will we prosper in a spiritual way, obtain a seat in heaven, 
simply by obeying the temporal teachings and disobeying 
the spiritual. We should attempt to obey the temporal 
commandments, the same as the Jews obey the temporal 
commandments in dealing among themselves, and at the 
same time obey the spiritual teachings of our Bible, the 
same as we do or attempt to do. After we obey the tem- 
poral teachings, the same as the Jews, then we all will have 
a fair chance to prosper in a temporal way. We may then 
not need to go to Christ in our spiritual prayers for temporal 
aid. " Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss." We 
should not ask for temporal aid through spiritual prayers. 
We should thank and praise the Lord for both spiritual and 
temporal blessings. 

We might attempt to improve our mode of obeying the 
temporal teachings and commandments of our Bible, the 
same as we have improved our mode of obeying the spiritual 
within the last few centuries. The dark waves of the dark 
ages deluged the enlightened world for a period of twelve 
hundred, more or less, years. Today we Gentile Christians 
" bring up " with our mode of obeying the* spiritual teach- 
ings almost to perfection. The Jews passed through the 
deluge, and today they seem to be perfect in obeying the 
temporal commandments, in dealing among themselves, but 
they sell the necessities of life to each other at a lower mar- 
gin than we sell to each other. A nation's mode of mer- 
chandise is their living. 

The margin that our several retailers realize is like the 
mainspring of a watch, most everything in particular is gov- 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 107 

erned, controlled and regulated by this movement. This 
"movement" may not govern our mode of obeying spiritual 
teachings, while it may govern our mode of obeying the tem- 
poral commandments to a greater extent than we can possi- 
bly imagine. This "movement" controls our mode of obey- 
ing the temporal teachings with an invisible rein. " Evil 
is wrought through want of thought, the same as through 
want of heart." Here probably lie the hidden " keys " that 
unlock the door of wisdom, that leads to success. In order 
that we may be able to obey the temporal commandments, so 
that we can obey the Lord and prosper in a temporal way, 
we may need to improve our mode of establishing laws to 
force all to obey the temporal commandments. 

First, we may need to determine what margin our retail- 
ers are to realize in order that they should comply with the 
commandment " Thou shalt not steal." If the margin is put 
at two per cent, then all will realize a benefit thereof. All 
shielded cheats then can be condemned. One thousand 
years ago, during the dark ages, our great grand forefather's 
laws were too weak to control the merchant's margin. To- 
day we are in the self same fix. We may have improved in 
establishing laws, still our laws are too weak to control the 
margins. We have been contending with our several disad- 
vantages, instead of contending with the cause of the same. 
The only way to dig up a big tree is to dig up its roots. We 
should have our laws to control the merchant's margin, and 
not have our merchant's margin to control our laws. Our 
law should be superior to the merchant's margin, then our 
laws will control the same. 

What is a law? It is to protect, by first restricting. 
After we establish a law that will restrict our merchant's 
margin, this restriction itself will protect our merchants 
against too much opposition. 

We need to establish a natural law of this character 
that will protect our mode of living in a natural way. Estab- 
lish a law from nature and not from the old usages and cus- 
toms that existed one thousand years ago. After we estab- 



108 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

lish a law that will restrict and protect the merchant, that 
will naturally reverse most everything in particular, we then 
will not need so many unnecessary laws. One good natural 
cook is worth one dozen hired (or borrowed) ones. 

We have rectified the old mode of obeying the spiritual 
teachings of our Bible, but we may need to rectify our mode 
of merchandise, oui mode of living, in order to be able to 
obey the temporal teachings and commandments. Our mode 
of religion and our mode of living are closely connected. 
We Gentile Christians today may be perfect in obeying the 
.spiritual teachings, while the Jews may be perfect in obey- 
ing the temporal commandments in dealing among them- 
selves. We may be able to teach the Jews of today how to 
obey the spiritual teachings, while the Jews of today may be 
able to teach us how to obey the temporal commandments. 
"When you can see your imperfections you are learning 
wisdom." We should "watch" as well as pray. All praying 
and no watching is similar to all work and no managing. 
What is watching if not ascertaining temporal truths ? 

The Jews are nearly as far above capital punishment as 
the stars are above this earth. They never kill each other 
through want of thought, and so are never killed through 
want of heart. Take home with you the first snarling cur 
you find upon the street, give him proper protection, he will 
follow you to your grave. But starve and abuse your pet 
spaniel, he will turn and snap you, then you order him to be 
shot. Should we show our people respect by protecting them 
the same as Israel protected her people, we would have less 
the number of criminals. Then should one slay his fellow 
man? we might not have any right to take his life, because 
this act would not give the murdered man back his life. 
Two wrongs don't make one right. We might imprison a 
criminal but to take his life — .Capital punishment don't de- 
crease, but increases crime, because it is demoralizing in the 
extreme. 

The greater the number of comrades that fall around a 
soldier on the field of battle, the more hardened becomes his 






" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 109 

heart. There is more or less of the brute in the human 
make up, and when you attempt to intimidate, the cowardly 
wolf or brave lion is put into act on. You can never expect 
to avail any good by doing any act that has a tendency to 
demoralize. A man is either a saint or a demon, according 
to the respect shown him. Capital punishment is simply a 
superst tious idea and a borrowed one. When you imagine 
your watch is incorrect refer to the "town-clock." "Where 
ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." If we hung every 
man that helped to shorten life, the number of our widows 
and orphans would increase. "Judge not that ye be not 
judged." "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of 
thine own eye and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the 
mote out of thy brother's eye." 

It is a serious thing to defraud your fellow man. You 
might defraud a few thousand people in some grand specu- 
lation, these people's lives might continue to be cut off from 
this fraud years after you were dead and buried. While in 
your grave the deeds that you had committed in your life- 
time might cause the death of your fellow men. We may 
be judged according to the deeds we have committed. Men 
have been known to shoot each other in a duel ; one of the 
contestants falling dead in his tracks while his opponent sur- 
vived him several days or weeks, then expired from the effects 
of the wound. The dead man was the murderer of his sur- 
vivor. "Life is real, life is earnest, life is 'nof an empty 
dream, " in one sense of the word. "Ignorance is sin." 

Should the Jews acknowledge Christ, obey the spiritual 
teachings the same as they obey the temporal commandments, 
(in dealing among themselves) they would be one of the 
greatest and most perfect nations. If we Gentile Christians 
obeyed the temporal commandments the same as the Jew 
does, we would be a perfect nation. Could we Gentile 
Christians and Israel consolidate or re-consolidate, become 
two nations combined into one, we then might be the most 
perfect people that ever lived; probably just what Christ in- 
tended we should be. 



110 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. 



The just are yoked down with the unjust. We may 
raise ourselves above the poor in a social way, through the 
aid of wealth, fame and honor, but the just cannot raise 
themselves above the unjust. Our governors nor presidents 
need not necessarily be connected with a church. If the 
Lord would aid us in our temporal wants, according to our 
prayers and piety, then our best Christians would all be "rich 
and respectable." If the Lord would aid us in a temporal 
way, according to our prayers, we then could afford to cheat 
and defraud and neglect our poor. Our poor's prayers 
would be heard, the Lord would aid them in their temporal 
wants and make up the deficiencies where we had defrauded. 
After we defraud our people, our poor, then all of our prayers 
and our poor's prayers cannot prevail upon the Lord to make 
up this deficiency. Our poor will suffer from the effects of this 
fraud, the same as though we and they had not uttered a 
prayer. It may be true that we may obtain pardon for this 
fraud, but the temporal effects will remain unless we return 
to the poor the amount we have defrauded them. After we 
once defraud our people, our poor, to extremes and after 
they are impoverished, it then may make but little difference 
how much we and our poor pray, we both may pray both 
night and day yet still their precious lives may be cut off 
from impoverishment just the same as though we and they 
had not uttered one prayer. We will be guilty of murder 
just the same. We may obtain pardon through our prayers 
for the lives that we have helped to shorten, but our prayers 
will not check a life from being cut off. Thousands of our 
poor are suffering all the known and unknown pangs and 
stings of poverty in all its known and unknown elements, 
caused from being defrauded in ways too numerous to men- 
tion. All of our and their prayers can give them no 'tem- 
poral relief (outside of spiritual consolation). Their tem- 
poral wants can only be reached through temporal means. 
Thousands of our poor are dying annually, before their natural 
time, from the effects of the stings of poverty. 

"Their graves are green, 

They may be seen." 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 111 

" None are so blind as those that will not see." These 
silent graves are dead witnesses against us ; they may rise 
up and confront us on the day of judgment. If we acted 
toward our people, our poor, the same as the Jews protect 
their people, we might not be held responsible. If we are 
not guilty of cutting off the lives of our people through want 
of thought we will not be found guilty, but if we are guilty 
we may be found wanting when weighed in the balance. 
Since Christ is our mediator, and we have no prophets, as of 
old, we may continue to cut off life through want of thought 
and not be warned of our error. We are commanded to 
"watch" as well as pray; all watcliing and no praying is 
similar to all work and no managing. The dark waves of 
the dark ages may have all receded while the dark clouds of 
the dark ages may still obscure the sky. Wise Israel, with 
the aid of his temporal wisdom, may see through the rift 
with his traditional eye. 



Chapter XII. — "We are 'Losted,' Can You Find Us?" 

The dark waves of the dark ages may have all receded, 

While the dark cloud of the dark ages still obscures the sky : 

Israel, with the aid of his temporal wisdom, 

May see through the rift, with his traditional eye. 

— (Original.) 

Because some of our almost ablest men part both their 
name and hair in the middle, eat pie with a fork and are 
over intelligent, is no reason why they should be considered 
perfect or unsuperstitious. They may labor under supersti- 
tious delusions (borrowed or otherwise), have superstitious 



112 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

views and ideas upon any given subject just as much and as 
far as they have ignored the same. Ignorance constitutes 
superstition. We are liable to have superstitious views 
upon any subject that we have ignored. There is a vast 
difference between intelligence and wisdom, Intelligence is 
similar to the branch of a tree, only an agent to hold fruit 
(wisdom). It is not the largest and stoutest limb every 
time that bears the most fruit. Where all the strength of 
the tree is consumed in producing too large a limb, there is 
less strength to produce the fruit. Intelligence is similar to 
a golden goblet — a vessel to hold wine ; because a goblet is 
gold, that alone is no reason that it should be full of wine. 
"All is not gold that glitters." All golden goblets are not 
filled with wine. Should you wish your son to become a 
wise physician, master medical science, medical wisdom, you 
would first give him. a practical education, improve his 
intellect to a certain degree; have him intelligent, so that he 
will be in prime condition to absorb and take on medical 
science, medi al wisdom. When your son comes home a 
graduate from college (before he has studied medical science, 
wisdom) he is intelligent, but after he has studied, mastered 
and practiced medical wisdom, he is a different man. While at 
the age of twenty he is intelligent, but at the age of forty 
he is wise. He is wise upon such subjects that he has ana- 
lyzed and mastered. We might imagine that we have two 
different distinct classes of superstitious people. Our ignor- 
ant classes, who are superstitious in a general way, and our 
intelligent classes, who may labor under superstitious delu- 
sions that have become prevalent through use and custom. 
We have the ignorant, superstitious classes and the intelli- 
gent superstitious classes. An ignorant tramp may know 
that he is superstitious (he is wise) in a general way ; he can 
feel it in his bones, while an intelligent party may labor 
under a number of superstitious ideas but at the same time 
be ignorant of the fact that he was superstitious. To be 
superstitious and know it, it may do, but to be superstitious 
and yet be ignorant of the fact, it is u perfectly ridiculous." 



113 

Webster "says" that superstition is "excessive exactness 
or rigor in religion ; worship of false gods ; belief in omens," 
but we don't believe that superstition is confined to the 
ignorant classes alone. Webster seems to be correct as far 
as he goes, but he might have added that intelligent parties 
labored under this malady. Who was Webster but a descend- 
ent of a superstitious race ? We might be able to trace this 
old superstition back to and beyond the dark ages. "Your 
severest critic is generally your best friend." Europe's and 
Young America's poor cannot live out their natural lives 
while they are cheated from the cradle to the grave unless 
the Lord aids them in a supernatural way. When we imagine 
the Lord will aid our people — our poor — in their temporal 
wants on account of our's and our poor's prayers, is not this 
a superstitious idea ? "The days of miracles are passed." 

The days of supernatural aid in temporal needs are 
passed. Where .we imagine that the Lord will aid us in our 
temporal needs in a supernatural way on account of our spir- 
itual prayers, that is superstition. We allow our poor to be 
defrauded in ways too numerous to mention, and when one 
of our poor's life is cut off on account of impoverishment, we 
imagine that it was the Lord's will that this poor party 
should die at this date and time. Should you kill a man in 
the middle of the road, you only hasten death, cut off life, 
but you might say that it was the Lord's will that said man 
should die at this date and time. We are supposed to do 
the Lord's will. 

If the Lord did His will upon earth we would be under 
no responsibilities. The dark black cloud of the dark ages 
is still over our heads which obscures our sky ; this is what 
causes it so hard for us to see. We are unable to see our 
faults on account of the black cloud. We have not been able 
to see the clear, blue sky with our eye of temporal wisdom. 
After we become intelligent we then are in condition to 
absorb and take on wisdom. Intelligence is good, knowledge 
is power, while wisdom is powerful. 

7* 






114 

A poor old ignorant darkey with his family, attempts to 
make a livelihood. Ephraham, the eldest son, is forced to 
drudge in all kinds of weather with an old worn out pair of 
shoes upon his feet to protect him from the cold and damp, 
wet mud and water. He catches his death of cold, takes 
down with pneumonia and expires. The old ignorant, 
superstitious darkies, Ephraham's parents and their friends, 
imagine that it "was the Lord's will" that Ephraham should 
die at this date and time. Had Ephraham have had proper 
protection he might be alive today with "a wife and house 
full of children." We need not be over anxious to have the 
darkies to quit us by going to Mexico. If we keep up our 
lick, inside of a few short centuries, all that will remain of the 
African race in this country will be a little bunch of u gray 
wool." They are degenerating, becoming depopulated, for 
the need of proper protection. 

A New York banker has a fine residence erected in the 
heart of New York City where his family and self will have 
a fair chance to breathe and inhale as much filth as possible. 
"The banker's daughter" takes down with the fever and ex- 
pires. The intelligent, superstitious banker, his family and 
friends, all imagine that it "was the Lord's will" that little 
Bessie should die at this date and time ; they believe that 
little Bessie's natural "time had come." Had we established 
"a live and let live system" in its proper form when this 
country was first settled, this "system" would have been the 
"ruling power" to a great extent. Everything that had a 
tendency to cut off life would have been inquired into. 
New York City, as well as other cities, would not be so over- 
populated, but our people would be placed in position in a 
more uniform order throughout the continent like so many 
fruit trees in an orchard. There would be no slums of 
poverty in our cities carrying disease and death in its wake. 

The poorest families would dwell in neat cottages. 
"Everybody" would use a tooth-brush three times a day and 
take a wholesome bath in "fresh water" once every day un- 
less it were those that were too enfeebled. Little Bessie, 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 115 

"the banker's daughter," might be alive today "with a house 
full of children." Whenever a contagious disease, small pox 
and similar diseases, "break out" we quarantine against this 
malady. While we do not attempt to protect ourselves 
against different diseases that arise from filth. Many a life 
is prolonged by guarding against lurking diseases, while 
many a life is shortened by not being properly protected 
against diseases that might have been checked. We only 
attempt to protect ourselves to a certain extent, and there 
stop. After you are once convinced that you are super- 
stitious, you are then in a condition to guard against this 
malady known as "intelligent superstition." 

When we imagine that the Lord will curse or bless us 
in a supernatural way (outside of the spiritual consolation, 
or the weight of a guilty conscience that we may realize) we 
there and then are probably guilty of a superstitious error. 
" Superstition is the curse of the world." It is our intelli- 
gent classes that control, they are responsible and are at fault. 
When we imagine the Lord will punish us in a super- 
natural way, we then and there deny the existence of Christ, 
the "mediator" between God and man. We must be able 
to see our own imperfections, be able to see our own super- 
stitious maladies, before we can expect to remedy the evil 
thereof. " Know thyself." Are you superstitious and aware 
of the fact, or are you superstitious and ignorant of the 
same? Nowadays most everything in general is natural. 
Nature has its course. "As the tree falleth so shall it lie." 
Superstitious ideas are insults to Christ, our " mediator." 

Superstitious ideas, like the hairs of our head, we may 
never know how many we may labor under till after they are 
counted. " When we can see our imperfections, we then are 
learning wisdom." Criticism is the life of wisdom. We 
criticise upon our ignorant classes ; through the aid of this 
criticism our ignorant classes know they are superstitious ; 
they have a chance of comparing themselves with our intel- 
ligent classes, while our intelligent classes have no way of 
making a comparison. Our intelligent classes can only crit- 



116 

icise upon themselves. Our ignorant classes are not intelli- 
gent enough to criticize upon our intelligent classes the 
same as our intelligent classes criticize upon our ignorant 
classes. The greater your controlling influence the more 
dangerous are your superstitious ideas. An ignorant tramp's 
superstitious ideas may cost you the value of a piece of cold 
pie, while the superstitious ideas of some of our almost ablest 
statesmen may cause you to mortgage and lose your " Sunny, 
sandy Southern home, sweet home, and farm," and force yon 
to send your dear old mother (in-law) to the " poorhouse." 
Which one of us today that have not enough superstition hid 
about our "old close " to swamp the universe if we had abso- 
lute control ? Intelligence alone will not save us from 
superstitious ideas, but wisdom will. It may make little 
difference how wise we may be on anyone or more subjects, 
we still may have superstitious ideas in regard to other sub- 
jects that we have ignored. 

Ignorance constitutes superstition. " Ignorance is sin." 
" We are born in sin," we are born in superstition, or rather 
superstition is born in us. Never allow yourself to be per- 
fectly "carried away" with a man (or handsome young 
lady either) simply because they have a pleasing address, 
eloquent powers and seem over intelligent. Don't mistake the 
"hired girl " for the lady of the house simply because she 
has swallowed Webster's unabridged, is over good looking, 
and happens to have on her " Sunday clothes " in the middle 
of the week. 

A jury that will allow themselves to be the least 
influenced under the influence of the power of eloquence, are 
not fit subjects to try a criminal case. If you are wise, sim- 
ple, plain facts may govern your decision, without the aid of 
the eloquent powers of others. It may need the power of 
eloquence to convince a child or a fool, but when you 
attempt to influence the wise with your power of eloquence 
you insult them. It is well enough to state any case in an 
easy, graceful and charming manner, but to attempt to over- 
awe with your superfluous abilities, you break the refined 



"A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 117 

rules of etiquette. You cannot move a wise Jew one inch 
with your power of eloquence. Don't crack your skull but- 
ting at the silver-knobbed door of intelligence, but improve 
your intellect, so that you may be able to " pass in a crowd," 
then goon to the next door that has no knob. Thisknobless 
door of wisdom will be found fitted into a little squatty 
building about the size of our poor's smallest shanty. You 
can be after running your hand and arm down through the 
chimney and opening the front door. You may find a 
golden knob on the inner side. This door can only be 
opened on the inside. 

It may do well enough to step inside a saloon, obtain a 
glass of good, cool lager beer to slake your thirst, but there 
is no use in loafing around the barroom. It is well enough 
to attend college, improve your intellect, but a college, some- 
what like a saloon, is not built to live in. If you attempt to 
take on too much lager you may injure your mental 
faculties. If you attempt to take on too much intelligence 
you may become brain crowded. We ofttimes meet up with 
a horse or dog that has an intelligent look out of the corners 
of his eyes. When we meet with a person who seems to 
have an over intelligent expression, we are perfectly carried 
away. Intelligence, like the limb of a peach tree, it is good 
to look at, but the fruit wisdom is better. 

Spiritual wisdom is for our spiritual good, while tem- 
poral wisdom is for our temporal good and welfare. The 
Lord in His infinite mercy has placed both within our reach 
that we might realize all the blessings and benefits in this 
our natural lives. If you take dangerously ill you will send 
for you ablest physician in order that you may obtain the full 
benefit of the medical wisdom that he has possessed himself 
with. We have advanced medical wisdom to a great extent 
within the last few centuries. Our medical scientifics have 
done away with the greater, if not all, the superstitious de- 
lusions that physicians labored under one thousind years 
ago. 

We have advanced innumerable arts and sciences while 



118 

our laws are too weak to protect our mercantile fraternity 
from too much opposition. Could we (Young America) get 
so placed, so positioned, that we could restrict the merchant, 
force our retailer to sell at two per cent, under a public cost- 
mark, bring and hold all enterprises in conformity, condemn 
all cheats the same as unshielded thefts, establish a natural 
law of this .character that had no taint of the old delusions 
that existed before, during, or after the dark ages ; then we 
might chuck the greater portion of our laws "out of the win- 
dow." ^ Voice from the gallery : "What's the matter with 
the door? '") After we are able to est iblish and inforce one 
good natural law that will protect our merchants against 
opposition so our merchandise — our living — will be protected, 
then we will be placed in a similar position that Israel has 
been placed in since the time of Moses. 

Israel has one good main law and requires few others. 
Our ablest statesmen have been contending with disadvant- 
ages, but if they could reach the cause then they might be 
able to suggest a remedy. Contending with disadvantages 
is one thing, but contending with the bottom cause or causes 
of the same, is somewhat different. Our able statesmen, 
somewhat like our able ministers, it may require a keener in- 
tellect, a brighter brain and a steadier nerve to pilot a ship 
out from among an innumerable number of invisible shoals 
(where it has been allowed to drift) than to guide a craft 
upon the main sea-road. 

The average life of a working honey bee is sixty days. 
The average number of years of our ablest statesmen's best 
work is five years. A statesman need to be "fair, fat and 
fortv" before he is at his best; at the age of fifty he begins 
to decline. He will lnturally sleep five years out of the 
ten between forty and fifty. Some of us sleep away one- 
half and fool away the other half of our years. Most office- 
holders spend their first term in learning how to " eat pie 
with a fork," so their second term is generally the best. 
This probably is why some persist so awfully on being 
elected the second term. Most all office holders sleep away 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 119 

one-half their term, and some have been accused of fooling 
away the other half. We must ail bear in mind that we are 
attempting to sail a " scuttled " craft, that we did not build. 
We should attempt to fight /the cause of our several disad- 
vantages instead of fighting our several disadvantages. 

There should only be about one merchant to every one 
hundred families, but we notice that most every Jew family 
produces one or more non-productive merchants. A portion 
of the Union once believed that it was right to shackle and 
sell slaves, so today we have more darkies upon our hands 
than we know what to do with. The whole Union probably 
once imagined it was right to manufacture and sell imita- 
tions, so today we have more non-productive Jews upon our 
hands than we know what to do with. Should we send all 
the darkies to Mexico, we might afterward find ourselves in 
a worse condition, because there are a very few darkies in 
the non-productive mercantile business. After the darkies 
were gone, we would find that our population would be 
decreased in proportion to the number of our business houses, 
while the number of our business houses would be increased 
in proportion to the number of our population. We should 
attempt to increase the number of our population in propor- 
tion to the number of our business houses, in order to give 
our non-productive mercantile fraternity the more patronage, 
so the fraternity could sell at a lower margin. Should we 
increase the number of our business houses in proportion to 
the number of our population by sending the darkies to 
Mexico, it would rob our merchants of their original share 
of patronage. If we could send a number of our business 
houses to Mexico or Liberia, it would give our remaining 
business houses the more patronage. Merchants are some- 
what like water: without enough water we might suffer with 
thirst, but with too much we would drown. After a young 
lady has seen twenty summers that is all sufficient, but after 
she has seen forty, the last extra twenty are the same as so 
many thieves of time. A certain per cent, of our now too 
great a number of merchants may be all that necessity might 



require, the remainder are much worse than so many tramps; 
they are non-productive and rob our required number of 
their rightful share of patronage. Unnecessary necessities 
of non-productive character are the worst natural curses that 
the human race is subjected to. But unnecessary necessities, 
business houses where they are not required, are a dead 
weight that the communities are forced to sustain. There is 
nothing of more vital temporal importance than our mode of 
selling the necessities of life ; it is our living. Where our 
mode of selling is deranged, our living is deranged ; where 
our merchants are overcrowded, they are forced to over- 
charge. This causes the necessities of life to be put upon 
the market at such high figures that " Tom and Dick" both 
are forced to go in the business in order to make a livelihood. 
Now, if we wait till 4 old Harry " himself is forced to go in 
the business, we then "will have old Harry to pay." 

After the late rebellion was over, after the steamships 
commenced ploughing the Atlantic, after we commenced 
inviting immigration, after we commenced manufacturing 
imitations, and still continuing to solicit competition and 
opposition among our mercantile fraternity, it had a natural 
tendency to draw most every loose non-productive Jew from 
the old to the new world. Before the late rebellion we man- 
ufactured few imitations ; before the late rebellion we were 
blessed with few non-productive Jews. The more we Gen- 
tiles defraud our people the more the Jews defraud us Gen- 
tiles. We Gentiles cannot defraud our people out of their 
living, their lives, without allowing the Jews to defraud us 
Gentiles out of our living. The same law that is to protect 
us Gentiles from the Jews will protect our people from us 
Gentiles, will protect ourselves against ourselves. 

In 1891 Russia "threw up the sponge" and declared to 
the whole world that she was unable to make a law that 
would protect her people against a few trading Jews. The 
Jews were never known to break one of God's laws, in deal- 
ing among themselves, since Moses gave them the command- 
ments (a few exceptions probably), they may occasionally 



121 

break a law in dealing among themselves, but it is not 
indorsed, it is condemned upon the spot. The Jews have 
never been known to break one law that a nation had established. 
Where one Jew breaks one of the Gentile's laws the Jew 
nation condemns the act. Had Russia examined her Bible 
she could have found a law that would have protected her 
people from the Jews. Russia showed signs of " weakness " 
by banishing the Jews. Did she banish the Jews in order 
that she might be able to continue to cheat without allowing 
the Jews to cheat also? 

"A wise man will bless the rod that made a man of 
him." Different European countries banished the Jews ages 
ago, which had a tendency to keep the Jews scattered, so to 
speak — kept the Jews from double-teaming too much upon 
any one country. 

Instead of us (Young America) banishing the Jews or 
restricting our merchant's limit on profits, we have gone 
right opposite from the way that some European countries 
have gone. We have been encouraging Jew as well as Gen- 
tile immigration ; we have been encouraging the manufactur- 
ing and of selling imitations, we have given every induce- 
ment for all the loose Jews of Europe to flock to the New 
World. Now after the greater portion of all the Jews are 
dwelling with us, we find that they or no other nation can 
live among us without living off of us, although our natural 
rich resources are greater than elsewhere. The Jews are forced 
to live off of us in order to live, in order that they could all 
live and let live. They might exist by simply attempting to 
dwell among us, but could not all live and let live. There is 
quite a difference between living and existing. Christ com- 
manded "Thou shalt not steal" in order to protect the com- 
mandment 4fc Thou shalt not kill," as well as to enable us to 
live and let live. The enlightened Gentile may or may not 
have understood the full sense and meaning of the command- 
ment u Thou shalt not steal," during the period that inter- 
vened after Christ's disciples explained it, up till the dark 
clouds of the dark ages obscured the sky ; but whether our 



122 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

great grand fore fathers never did understand the full mean- 
ing of the word steal, or whether they once understood and 
forgot the same during the dark ages ; in either case it is 
all the same with us today. Today we do not understand 
the meaning of the word steal in its full sense and meaning. 
We all admit that "experience is our best teacher." We 
here as good as acknowledge that we can learn more easily 
and readily from experience, hard experience, than from pre- 
cept or example. If the Lord pre-ordained that Israel was 
to teach us Gentiies, through hard experience, what we failed 
to understand through precept and example, now is the ac- 
cepted time. Uncle Sam has probably learned more temporal 
truths of vital importance from the Jews, through hard ex- 
perience, within the last thirty years than he has learned 
otherwise in the whole course of his military, or rather mer- 
cantile career. If you see that you are forced to convince a 
man against his will, don't tackle him in a single handed 
game of talk. He may go to sleep and allow you to talk 
yourself dumb (and foolish). 

The Jews have "went at" our dear young uncle with a 
"club" about three feet long with figures on either side and 
they are about to almost pursuade him to become a true 
Christian. We must always bear in mind that Christ was 
an offspring of a Jewish mother. We must bear in mind 
that the modern Gentile world has been considered a cheat 
back to a certain or uncertain time ; we now may need to at- 
tempt to pry into the p tst instead of devoting all our spare 
time in attempting to pry into the future. 

Man is not made wholly for action, but partly for con- 
templation. He is placed between two glorious mirrors — 
anticipation and retrospection — the one beckoning him for- 
ward, the other reflecting light on the way he should go or 
path he should follow. Ii is a departure from the just bal- 
ance of nature to dash either of these in pieces. 

Whoever limits his existence to "that fleeting strip of 
sunlight" which Ave call "now," reduces himself like the tick- 
ing clock to a mere measure of passing seconds. He who 



I 
" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM." 123 

lives only in the future, never pausing to look back and take 
counsel of the past, lives the life of a restless settler of the 
Far West who never stops to secure and enjoy what has 
been won from the wilderness, but still pushes on and on for 
scenes of new excitement and adventure. 

A wise man and a wise people should use the past as a 
prophet of the future and make both of these subservient to 
the interest of each passing hour. "Men are but children of 
larger growth." u The child is father to the man " The 
child is older than the man. You must be a child before 
you can become a man ; man is incapable of rating himself. 
We are incapable of rating each other. We, probably, over- 
rate each other in regard to each other's temporal wisdom, 
but underrate each other's spiritual wisdom. 

We look backward and see Christ upon the cross with 
our spiritual eye, while we never think of taking an imag- 
inary retrospective glance with our temporal eye. 

As before stated, the Lord ofttimes makes calcu- 
lations centuries ahead. The Lord picked out a drouthy 
homestead for Israel. After He withdrew His supernatural 
power, then Israel was forced to dwell among the Gentiles. 
Probablv Israel has never allowed one of his number to die 
of poverty or on account of his carelessness. Israel proba- 
bly cannot be convicted of murdering one of his people 
through want of thought. If one of his should be murdered 
in this wajr, it would be an insult, a reproach upon Israel, 
& lasting reproach upon Christ's own mother's people. The 
reason probably why that the Jews are generally non-pro- 
ductive is because neither Europe or Young America have 
ever protected honest labor, a productive character. Israel 
cannot be productive among us till after we protect produc- 
tive enterprises by restricting non-productive enterprises. 
Should Israel attempt to be productive among us his people 
would have life cut off the same as our Gentile productive 
people. The Jews may have been forced to invest princi- 
pally in non-productive enterprises, else some of their peo- 
ple's lives might be cut off on account of their carelessness. 



I 
124 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

They are forced to place themselves in positions to aid and 
protect each other, They have been forced to be only non- 
productive and deny Christ in order to preserve Christ. 
Christ was an offspring of a Jewish mother. Israel has 
respected Christ by not allowing one of Christ's mother's 
people's life to be cut off from impoverishment on account of 
Israel's carelessness. Israel has not murdered one of Christ's 
mother's people through want of thought. Should Israel 
acknowledge Christ, become so many of us, then Christ's 
mother's people's lives might be cut off from impoverish- 
ment caused from being overcharged in procuring the neces- 
sities of life. "A charge to keep I have." Israel has kept 
the ten commandments (or has attempted to do so), be- 
sides Israel has attempted to keep the temporal command- 
ments that Christ confirmed and gave. Israel has had a 
double " charge to keep " since Christ gave Israel and the 
world His temporal commandments. Israel preserved Christ 
by denying Christ, while the dark waves of the dark ages 
rolled over the enlightened world. Israel may be forced to 
deny Christ in order to preserve Christ, as long as the dark 
clouds of the dark ages obscure our sky. " We can only 
recognize good and evil by comparison." Had Israel joined 
us by acknowledging Christ, say one thousand years ago, to- 
day we would have no nation to compare ourselves with. 
Today we (Young America) are able to make a comparison: 
between our poorest Gentiles and our American Jews — poorest 
Jews. The nation that protects its poor the bjst is probably 
the best God-fearing nation. Our intentions may be good 
enough, but we have no " live and let live system, " we are 
laboring under the delusions that originated, germinated dur- 
ing or before the dark ages. "A tree is known by the fruit 
it bears," and not by its leaves. You scarcely meet with an 
irrespectable Jew, because the Jews protect their people — 
their poor. Their poor are not forced to be ki rich and re- 
spectable" in order to be respected, while we are forced to 
be " rich and respectable " before we can be ( u rich) and re- 
spectable," because we do not protect our. poor. It takes 



125 

protection to constitute respectability. It may require a 
little of the world's wealth to keep disgrace if not suspicion 
from resting upon an umblemished character. You scarcely 
meet with a Jew pauper. We do not protect our poor, and 
have none to respect except our rich. The Jews pay most 
of their respects to their poor by protecting them and allow 
their rich to take care of themselves ; while we pay all our 
respects to our rich and allow our poor to " root hog or die." 

We respect our rich and not our poor, because our rich 
respect themselves by protecting themselves. The world 
cannot afford to respect any party that is not protected for 
fear of degenerating. Did Christ command us to have pity 
upon our rich, or upon our poor? Today we (Young Amer- 
ica) are not able to compare our mode of dealing with the 
Jews, but we are able to learn more or less from the hard 
experience we are undergoing, under the heavy weight of 
the greater portion of the whole non-productive Jew nation. 
■"A wise man will bless the rod that made a man of him." 
Your severest critic is ofttimes your best friend. Israel is 
criticising upon us with a " club." We acknowledge that 
"the Jews have gutted Young America financially." Yet we 
acknowledge that " experience, hard experience " is our best 
teacher. "None are so blind as those who will not see." 
Wh-err-w^-4iadexcai^-o«r-g©edr4ooks or-eapabilities we insult 
<jHJE.J4aker. 

Our laws should be superior to fluctuating prices as 
well as superior to the merchant's margin. 

Our laws are established from the rules of our Bible, 
and our laws should be supreme, regardless of the old usages 
and customs. After we first ascertain what is cheating we 
then should establish laws suitable for the occasion. Nothing 
should come under the heading " What is everybody's busi- 
ness is nobody's business." W r e should not depend upon 
each other (figuratively speaking), but should depend upon 
ourselves. We should not wait for something to turn up, 
but should endeavor to turn up something. When we under- 
rate our good looks or capabilities we insult our Maker. 



If you own one thousand dollars' worth of taxable prop- 
erty you will be taxed annually about ten dollars. If you 
procure one thousand dollars' worth of merchandise, the 
necessities of life, from merchants who are realizing twenty 
per cent, profit, you are taxed two hundred dollars — you only 
receive eight hundred dollars' worth of merchandise. But if 
our retail merchants were selling at two per cent, they 
would keep off opposition, fare better, because the commu- 
nities would prosper the more each succeeding year. We 
could manufacture and raise the necessities of life and place 
the same upon the market at one-half the price. Then one 
could procure the same amount of merchandise for five hun- 
dred dollars that now costs one thousand, and only be taxed 
ten dollars instead of two hundred. Then our communities 
could prosper, prosper and prosper. Our world would be a 
paradise upon earth. Then we could more easily Christian- 
ize the unenlightened world after we had showed God's good- 
will to all mankind. "God created man after His own 
image." 

Rothschild defrauded England out of more or less gold 
during the time of the battle of Waterloo. 

England's government and merchants have been paying 
Rothschild too steep a per cent, for borrowed loans, yet 
England probably has learned very little through this expe- 
rience, because she has been monopolizing elsewhere, which 
naturally offsets the effects of Rothschild's weight. But 
with us (Young America) it is somewhat different. We are 
in a good condition to be forced to carry the big end of the 
log, labor under a portion of the world's faults, our own 
faults, and the greater portion of Israel's weights. We are 
paying too great a per cent, on borrowed loans, while we are 
unable to monopolize elsewhere. Europe can over "sell" 
us, in selling us both necessary and unnecessary wares of 
merchandise. Europe ships (or did ship) us her oversold 
paupers, while we had no country to ship ours or Europe's 
paupers to. Europe has shipped the greater portion of her 






" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 127 

non-productive Jews upon our young shoulders, while we 
have no new country to ship the same to. 

We (Young America) are in a good position to learn, 
through hard experience and example, what the enlightened 
Christian world has failed to learn through precept. We 
begin to see the folly of recognizing any kind of a cheat that 
is shielded under any kind of a fancy charming form. But 
who suffers the extreme on account of our folly? It is not 
our rich and otherwise intelligent parties of controlling 
influence. Right here is where the trouble has lain for cen- 
turies past. If it were our rich and otherwise intelligent 
parties of controlling influence that suffered the extremes on 
account of the modern world's folly, it probably would have 
been unearthed and uprooted years ago. It is the poor 
whites and darkies of our " Sunny, Sandy South " that have 
suffered the extremes for the last thirty years. Throughout 
the South you may find scores and scores of old, gray and 
white headed, refined, intelligent ladies of the old refined 
school order, who were once "rich and respectable," who, 
after having to undergo the reverses of war, were unable to 
recover from the effects before the Union was manufac- 
turing and selling imitations as well as genuine articles at 
too high a price and margin. You may find hundreds of 
these refined, gray-headed mothers drudging almost day and 
night, fighting Young America's overgrown "wolf at the 
door" with their poor old bony wrinkled, palsied hands. These 
poor old gray and white-headed mothers have been crushed and 
bruised and are dying a slow, starving death, while there is 
plenty in the land (so we say). It may be true that their 
husbands and sons fought, bled and died for the " lost cause,' 
but these heroes would have shouldered the musket just as 
readily had there been another Boston massacre, and would 
have helped to have fought for their country just as hard or 
harder than they fought for the South (and we hope with 
better success). It is the poor, and only the poor, old and 
enfeebled who suffer the extremes under the natural curse 



128 "A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

of speculating upon the necessities of life without any lawful 
limit on profits. 

These poor old mothers have existed under the curse of 
being cheated for a cheat for thirty years without cessation. 
Hundreds of these dear old ladies have succumbed under 
this curse, leaving now and then a few pauper orphans to be 
cheated for a cheat till their hearts cease to beat. The greater 
per cent, of the impoverished whites of the South today are 
descendants of dead and buried heroes, who gave up their lives 
that we might enjoy our liberty. Today we have none that 
we (Young America) can cheat scarcely except the pauper 
descendents of our dead and buried heroes, that laid down 
their lives that we might have our liberty. Still we wonder 
why the Jews do not join us. Should Israel join us, become 
so many of us, we then might defraud and cut off the lives 
of Christ's mother's people the same as we defraud and cut 
off the lives of the descendants of our dead and buried 
heroes that gave up their lives that we might have our 
liberty. 

"An honest man is the noblest work o£God," because 
an honest man protects his fellow man and helps to lengthen 
life, while a dishonest man defrauds his fellow man and helps 
to shorten life. The Jews are the noblest men of God, in 
dealing among themselves, because they act honest among 
themselves and lengthen the lives of their own fellow men. 
The Jews cannot act honest toward us until after we act 
honest toward onrselves. We cannot act honest toward our- 
selves till after we have established a system. 

The most dangerous, dishonest men we have are not 
our thieves that steal outright, but our men who imagine 
they are honest, while they are defrauding. A thief that 
steals where his theft is not shielded is a wise man, he knows 
that he is a thief ; but the hardest thief to run down and con- 
vict is the man who cheats while he imagines that he is hon- 
est. " While in Rome you must do as the Romans do." 

When you imagine your watch is incorrect, refer to the 
"town-clock." The poor twice abused slaves, the poor 






" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 129 

unprotected darkies of the South, were the first to discover 
and draw our attention to the fact that the South was under- 
going the hardest experience from the effects of the world's 
folly. The darkies are not intelligent enough to understand 
how to rectify God's laws. They are not shrewd enough to 
cheat and shield the same under a form. Few, very few of 
them, have ever gone in the mercantile or any other kind of 
business of the non productive character. They are an ignor- 
ant, productive race. They are an ignorant, honest, produc- 
tive race of people. They are too ignorant to steal and shield 
it under a form. Israel is too wise, while the darkies are too 
ignorant for us intelligent Gentile " white folks." 

By us not restricting our non-productive enterprises in the 
least it had a tendency to draw most all the non-productive 
Jews to this country. After our non-productive enterprises 
were crowded with too much opposition, said non-productive 
enterprises were forced to fall back upon the communities 
of the productive order for support and maintenance. As 
" all the darkies " are generally of the productive order, 
besides not being shrewd enough to cheat to any extent, 
where their thefts are shielded under a form^ it is natural 
that the "ice would be broken" first in their midst, where 
the weight of the modern world's folly had concentrated. 
So the poor darkies naturally first felt the weight that they 
and we could not see. They were first to " throw up the 
sponge," threw up their black, rough, honest corn-fisted hands 
and declared their willingness to go to even Mexico or most 
any place, anyway, anyhow, in order to get out from under a 
weight that they could feel but could not see. 

There are probably a great many things like our back- 
bone-^-we may feel or know that it exists, but we need never 
expect to see it with our own eyes. The greater portion of 
the weight of the modern world's folly has concentrated 
upon Young America's young shoulders. Too great a per 
cent, of us are somewhat like a woodchuck, forced to make a 
livelihood with our heads instead of our claws, because we 



130 " A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 

are not in a condition to protect productive enterprises. If 
you was forced to utilize one gallon of whiskey each day, 
externally or otherwise, and if whiskey was sold at too high 
a price, you then might be forced to go into the saloon bus- 
iness in order to be able to procure this gallon daily and keep 
up. So with our American Jews (as well as our Gentiles), 
our necessities of life are put on the market at such high 
rates that too great a number of our Jew population are forced 
to go into the mercantile business in order to procure the 
necessities of life. \ 

The Jews cannot afford to draw any of their merchants 
out of the mercantile business, because we sell our merchan- 
dise at too high a price. We cannot sell any lower because 
we have too great a number of Jew merchants. We cannot 
sell any cheaper, because we have too many Jew merchants, 
and none of the Jew merchants can afford to draw out, 
because we sell too high. We probably have too great a 
number of Gentile merchants, but we have a greater number 
of Jew merchants according to our Jew population than we 
have of Gentile merchants according to our Gentile popula- 
tion. Use and custom as well as surrounding circumstances 
have naturally forced us into this strait. " Necessity, the 
mother of invention," may invent a way to help us out. The 
old delusions that we have labored under have naturally 
forced us into the predicament we now find ourselves. Europe 
or the remainder of the world may afford to continue to 
cheat if it choses, while we have none to cheat scarcely (the 
darkies have commenced to quit us) except the pauper de- 
scendants of our dead and buried heroes, that laid down their 
lives so that we might have our liberty. "Ceremony is the 
worst enemy to enjoyment." Should we become convinced 
that our retail merchants should only realize two per cent, 
(or five per cent.) we might not need to attempt to reach 
this limit in one year's time, but set our pegs at this limit 
and attempt to reach it in a gradual way. Our State's or 
Farmers' Alliance attempted to fall as low as ten per cent, 
but they went at it in the exact opposite direction from 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 131 

right. Instead of the Alliance attempting to decrease the 
number of non-producing business houses, the Alliance 
attempted to increase the same by erecting more large busi- 
ness houses. " When you can see your imperfections you 
are learning wisdom." There are two ways : we might give 
our merchants the more patronage so they could sell at a 
lower margin ; we might get a rich flowing immigration to 
commence anew, else cut the number of our business houses 
in twain. "A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a 
sweeping rain that leaveth no food." 

We have a great number of merchants who buy the 
greater portion of their stock of goods on a credit. Credit 
will ruin any man or nation," probably in a number of differ- 
ent ways. Our moneyed merchants, who are able to have 
their bills discounted by paying spot cash, should sell at a 
low enough margin to keep off this credit competition, then 
the communities would prosper under these low margins. 
Our too many poor merchants simply rob our moneyed mer- 
chants out of their rightful share of patronage. We may 
not have too great a number of men in the business, but 
have too great a number of merchants. We need more clerks 
and a less number of merchants. Our poor merchants might 
find employment clerking for merchants that were able to 
have their bills discounted. 

We have simply made a " plaything " out of our mode 
of selling our merchandise ; we have made a " plaything " 
out of our mode of living. Our poor merchants should be 
allowed to sell out their stock, then Uncle Sam might nail up 
(for the time being) the doors of these business houses with 
the same "hammer" that erected them. Uncle Sam to keep 
the closed doors closed until our merchants reached a specified 
low margin. After our poor merchants have drawn out of 
the "business," Uncle Sam could count the number of our 
moneyed Gentile merchants that were still in the "business " 
and count the number of our Gentile population. After 
ascertaining what per cent, of our Gentile population that 
were in the mercantile business, have the Jews to draw off their 



132 u A LIVE AND LET LIVE fRICE system. " 

number of merchants till they had the same proportion of 
merchants according to the Jew population of the Union. 
This would cut out probably more than half our number of 
merchants and give our remainder of merchants the more 
patronage. No merchant should be forced to sacrifice his 
stock of goods, but be allowed a certain time to sell out, the 
remnants auctioned off. By our merchants obtaining double 
the patronage, they could sell at half the margin. They 
would utilize a public costmark as though naught had hap- 
pened, and sell at a margin governed somewhat by surround- 
ing circumstances. As fast as the people prospered under 
this low margin and gave the merchants the more patronage, 
so fast would the merchants fall on profits. 

Then the necessities of life could be raised and manu- 
factured at a lower cost. Should the mercantile fraternity 
be able to reach two per cent, in course of time, they would 
consolidate at this margin. All cheats would be condemned, 
no matter under what forms they were shielded. After our 
people were able to obtain the necessities of life at so low a 
cost, they would not need to " strike, steal or starve." No 
one would then need to cheat and shield it under a form ; no 
one would need to go into the non-productive mercantile 
business in order to make a livelihood. The cheaper we sell 
the necessities and luxuries of life the more valuable our 
currency, our natural resources, our real estate and our coun- 
try. The cheaper you can live in a country, the more val- 
uable that country. One reason why some of us wish to go 
to heaven is because we imagine we can live there so cheap, 
will not be worried with the cares of making a livelihood. 
Of course we don't want so cheap a country as China, it 
might prove inconvenient. By our retail merchants selling 
at two per cent, this will naturally govern and regulate most 
everything else. After all non-productive enterprises are 
restricted in conformity with the retail merchants' margin, 
then our productive enterprises will be protected. Honest 
labor will be dignified, as it will only need to work as little 
as possible. Then both Jew and Gentile can labor in the 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 133 

(corn) field and vineyard and be respectable, because they 
will be protected. 

Handsome reader (should the author be so fortunate as 
to have one), take no exceptions to our seemingly dictations ; 
a book is not expected to dictate. The author is simply 
attempting to advance his ideas in a plain, matter of fact 
manner. 

" Thou shalt not steal " is a commandment for temporal 
use ; it was given us so that we might be able to protect our- 
selves against ourselves, so all could have a fair chance to 
prosper without defrauding each other and enjoy the full 
benefits, and temporal as well as spiritual blessings of this 
life. It is impossible for us to miss all we have not received, 
yet we might have been and still might be entitled to the 
same. " Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise," 
because we are not able to miss all that we do not receive. 
It is impossible for a blind man to realize all that he may 
miss from being blind. " None are so blind as those that 
will not see." 

After we establish a law, a system, to protect us from 
Israel's weight, this same law will protect ourselves against 
ourselves. After we establish a system, a law, so that Israel 
can prosper in a productive way, then we will be able to 
prosper in a productive way. A dollar saved is just as val- 
uable as a dollar made. We must know how to value a 
human life before we can know how to value a dollar bill. 
u The love of money is the root of all evil." Should you 
have ten thousand dollars in currency after the necessities 
and luxuries of life are put upon the market at half the old 
original price, your ten thousand dollars then is equivalent 
to twenty in one sense of the word, its real value in pro- 
curing the necessities and luxuries of life is doubled. 

The Lord will and does provide, but we should attempt 
to divide. We may have to give an account of our steward- 
ship. After the Lord has provided we should not defraud 
our fellow man out of his rightful share of provisions. The 
time to charge a high price for the necessities of life is dur- 



134 

ing or after a drouth or famine, not prior to this time. If a 
farmer can raise wheat and corn at forty cents per bushel 
and pork at four cents a pound, should there be a greater de- 
mand than usual for these articles ; the prices of the same 
should not fluctuate, go up, but remain a standard price. 
When our people commence to prosper in the least, there is 
generally a greater demand ; this demand causes prices to go 
up. But these advancing prices have a tendency to check 
the people from continuing to prosper. Our people are simi- 
lar to so many drowning men, the moment they get their 
heads above water there is a greater demand for fresh air, 
but the heavy hand of fluctuating prices force the drowning 
heads back under the surface. Should there be a drouth, fam- 
ine, and should the farmer only be able to make half a crop, 
then the prices might advance upon his produce because it cost 
him the more. The prices should fluctuate from thei* head 
source, then the people would only be overcharged after the 
famine and not prior. Prices should not advance upon any 
kind of merchandise unless it was caused from the head 
source, then when our people commenced to prosper they 
could continue to prosper. This would naturally cause a 
continual demand. Fluctuating prices are simply a super- 
stitious delusion and impedes our progress. The idea of 
overcharging our people simply because there happens to be 
a greater demand for bread and raiment; it is barbarous, 
vulgar, it is "perfectly ridiculous." "Truth is stranger than 
fiction." We must shake off the old superstitious delusions 
that originated before our time, before we can expect to make 
a success at Christianizing the Jews or any other nation. 
By us enlightened Christians defrauding the people, (in 
ways too numerous to mention) we naturally rob the world 
at large of the temporal blessings that the Lord may have 
always had in store for mankind. Instead of us Christians 
producing lands "flowing with milk and honey," with said 
milk and honey at a low price, we show up a cold frost-bitten 
cruel world. We should attempt to follow the "golden rule." 
But it may be almost impossible to follow any kind of a rule 






" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. " 135 

successfully without a system. "A system is the secret of 
success." Without "a live and let live price system" our 
mode of living is "left to the mercy of the waves." Our and 
our descendants' welfare is left partly to "chance." We send 
our offsprings out upon the sea of life without a compass. 
The Lord probably has never aided one in his temporal wants 
in a supernatural way on account of spiritual prayers. 

None can ever know how to sympathize with an offspring 
like a mother. A Jewish mother may know that her child 
will be cared for in a temporal way, even if it is left an 
orphan without a penny. Money and means may give out, 
but this temporal protection that the Jews utilize, give their 
people, will last probably as long as Israel lasts. The Jews 
may deny Christ as long as the dark clouds of the dark ages 
obscure the sky, but to disobey His temporal commandments, 
never could the whole enlightened Christian world be able 
to establish as good a live and let live system as Israel seems 
to have ; - Change this cheating world into an honest world, 
what a vast difference the contrast would be. What a dif- 
ferent world this would seem and really be in a short space 
of time. Thousands of disadvantages would disappear while 
thousands of advantages would germinate in their stead, that 
have been dormant and unknown. 

We cannot have the most distant idea of the advantages 
and temporal blessings that we would realize. Our pen fails 
us. It might be almost as difficult a task to attempt to ex- 
plain the benefits and blessings of heaven as to attempt to 
describe and explain the temporal blessings that the Lord has 
always had in store for those that obeyed His commandments, 
because we have never seen either. "Behind a frowning 
providence we may find a smiling face." After we produce 
"a land flowing with milk and honey," after we realize these 
temporal blessings, our realizations will be solid, temporal 
proofs of God's good will to all mankind. The world will 
see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. The 
world, our people, and ourselves will then have the more 
faith in spiritual doctrines. Let your light so shine that all 



136 



" A LIVE AND LET LIVE PRICE SYSTEM. 



may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. 
We should carry the sword of spiritual truths in one hand 
and the sword of temporal truths in the other, put on the 
whole armor. "Custom is man's chief magistrate." Should 
Uncle Sam be able to dethrone this invisible monarch, es- 
tablish "a live and let live price system" in its proper form, 
produce u a land flowing with milk and honey," he probably 
would be the first Gentile Christian that ever pressed the 
golden pedals with his feet, while his "lilly white" hands 
mastered the ivory keys. 







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